Reply #22: You do have it wrong. [View All]

[Captiosus]

And if you need proof that Clovis is right, I'll send you a picture of my great-grandfather's proof of marriage from right here in the good old United States. The family Bible.

Clovis makes a solid argument that the reason marriage is so tied to religion is because religion was the only way to be married for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Marriage did not become a government endorsed civil contract until recent history when it had to for the purposes of record keeping and taxation.

Even into the late 1800s, right here in the United States, marriages were performed by religious clergy. They were considered legal and binding and the only proof of marriage was the record in the family bible signed by the groom and the clergy performing the ceremony.

Of course, that having been said, the past is rather a moot point.