In the modern State of Israel, the law concerning matters of marriage, divorce, and personal status, is partially under the jurisdiction of religious courts. For example, there is no civil marriage in Israel. The Jewish religious regulations concerning "mamzerim" are thus also the national laws imposed on Jews living in Israel, including secular Jews. Because of the severe impediments to marriage which "mamzer" status accords in Jewish law, Israeli civil law has taken the position that the paternity of a child born within a marriage cannot legally be challenged in civil courts, in order to avoid creating a body of evidence that might be used to declare the child a "mamzer", or create difficulties for a future marriage.