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Originally Posted by danielf
Sorry Punky, but that is nonsense. I'm getting married and I am a staunch Atheist. Marriage is a civil as well as religious affair, and as far as I'm concerned they have little to do with each other. I certainly will not be going through a religious marriage.
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I think you misread me. I never said they were one-and-the-same, I was actually trying say what you were, (badly, apparently), that the religious side and civil side were created independent, and should be kept away from each other. Of course, and when athiests get married they do it in a registry office, with a civil servant. That is a modern alternative to the tradition of marriage. We call it marriage, but this isn't what marriage was concieved as hundreds, or rather thousands of years ago.
You don't have to go to church, perform the declaration under God, and swap the bahns. That's been what marriage was long before marriage certificates, registry offices, and tax breaks became a part of the marriage. Everyone goes through the civil part of the marriage, which is the signing the license. Anything else is optional.