What is Marriage?

Marriage is a religious institution and has religous underpinnings in almost all societies that practice it. Certainly in our society.

The goverment has no business supporting a religious act, ceremony, or institution. It breaches the establishment of religion clause a lot more than displaying the 10 commandments.

Marriage, for secular purposes, could and should be considered a legal partnership contract with obligations on both sides. Call it a Domestic Partnership Agreement or something like that.

If religions, churches or individuals want to glorify the DPA in a cermony of some sort - fine. But that should have no relationship to the contract. It would be window dressing to make people feel good inside.

Love, sexual relations and procreation in marriage would be incidental to the religious OR secular/contractual aspects of marriage (unless of course the DPA called for performance of some kind).

Marriage ultimately has biological underpinnings. On the secular level it is a legal contract governing the rights and obligations associated with choosing a permanent mate. On the religious level it is a ceremonialization or sanctification of the mating process, a sort of mating ritual particular to our species.

The state cannot meddle with the religious aspects. But as a secular legal contract, this is where the state's jurisdiction lies. In other words, the state can choose to recognize, or not recognize, a legal partnership. But it of course cannot force the church or churches to do the same, or expect them to perform the relevant ceremonies.

Just because there is a written "separation of church and state", why do people want to end any government acknowledgement of religion, marriage, and the other things that have value in a society that should attempt to promote harmony and protect our children so that they have a chance to develop a sense of common decency and perhaps grow up to continue to build on a society that is not based on sex, violence, ruined marriages and every man for himself.

While I don't subscribe to any religion, it is probably far better that a large number of people in our society do, as they tend to help the poor, each other, and value peace and community responsibility. Marriage is good thing if than for no other reason than to hopefully provide a solid foundation for raising children.

While none of this is perfect, I see no evil in the government promoting or protecting those things that encourage responsible behavior. You can give me all the examples you want to the contrary, and you can give me extreme examples the other way, but I wish they would pass laws that make it harder to get married and divorced. And the more people that want to go to church, probably the better, if for no other reason than it keeps them off the trout streams on Sunday morning.

I'm not a prude, but the trend toward "deregulation of common decency" has not improved our society as far as I can see. What’s the best mix? Where should the line be drawn? I don’t know but to separate the government totally from those things is probably as bad as it totally regulating them.

Ps. Don’t bother to write a nasty reply, I’m off to the northwestern U.P. of Michigan for the remainder of the deer season staring NOW. I will be extremely unreachable. Everyone have a nice Thanksgiving Holiday.

Daryl