A marriage in which little or no love-making activity occurs between two spouses: There are some married couples who have celibate marriages because they have different work schedules, have demanding and busy lives, as a result of old age, or for a variety of other reasons.

A feature of a Catholic celibate marriage, or Josephite marriage, is the agreement to abstain from participating in intimate activities as a mutual decision.

Sometimes, celibate marriages, or "spiritual marriages", may also take place later in life after raising a family so the couple can fully dedicate themselves to serving the humanitarian objectives of their church.