Reply #61: Legally, religious marriage does not exist [View All]

In the United States, it is either civil marriage or no marriage at all. Whether or not a religious ritual has been done in conjunction with the filing of papers is irrelevant under the law, and any attempt to make it relevant would be a violation of the First Amendment. So I disagree that there is any point to be made between "civil marriage" and "religious marriage", at least as far as the law is concerned. :toast:

And I do think you are being overly optimistic. With regards to marriage, I have heard a sickeningly huge load of garbage about how "only church marriages are legal" and how equal marriage "will force churches to conduct ceremonies they disagree with." The overall ignorance of First Amendment protections is astounding, and not something that can be easily overcome by a public service announcement.