ALL RELIGIONS: Does a secular government have a vested interst in legally defining "marriage"?

Question

1. Yes or No.
2. Why or Why not
3. What should the defining aspects be? For example, age, genders, species, multiplicity, etc.

Please be consise with your answer. Please also state your religion.

Answer 1

1 yes

2 to insure property rights of people in long term relationships, as well as medical and social benefits, childcare, and inheritence.

3 Any two (or group!) of consenting adults should be able to enter into this contract. Oh, and humans only, since you mentioned species LOL

I don't have a religon, I'm an atheist.

Oh, and digdug, our governmental stability has nothing to do with religion, get real. It has to do with Americans' uncanny ability to identify with the whole (patriotism if you will), the fundamental stablilty of a two-party system, and our amazingly well-crafted constitution.

Mister Mister, I don't think you'd be so keen to institute a dictatorship of the majority if the majority of americans weren't christians. I hope one day you'll realize how truly important freedom is, but I doubt it.

Papa Bear, by your logic the only thing we can do to prevent me from marrying my pet pig is to outlaw marriage all together. Your argument is based on "if one group has rights, all others will have a right to demand the same". But you see, one group, heterosexuals, already have the right to marry. According to your own logic, we are already standing on that slippery slope.

Answer 2

From a secular point of view - the most important aspect of marriage is the property issue. From this standpoint there is no real issue with age/gender/multiplicity, species might still cause some problems...

Where children are concerned, there is the issue of whether or not the marriage is a stable and suitable place to raise children. It's a huge debate as to who can bring up children, but a man and a woman has worked for the last few thousand years, so why change now?

I'm Asatru.

Answer 3

all appropriate! You factor out something exciting, yet i do no longer think of which you already know which you probably did. lol. Preachers (Reverends, pastors, clergymen, imans, and so forth.) do no longer in basic terms get to marry human beings willy nilly, they are authorized to achieve this by the state. After the ceremony is over, the newly married couple and their actual witnesses (many times the two that get up for them) proceed to the church workplace to fill out actual government paperwork, that's then filed with the state and proves the couple to be married, in accordance to THE STATE. The non secular trappings are actually not legally mandatory. the government DOES define marriage, no person is definitely married without approval from the government. you may think of the non secular could understand this, church leaders know it, yet are misrepresenting the certainty while they scream lies from their pulpits (between different lies approximately us besides). a marriage isn't a marriage until eventually the government defines the union of the two human beings AS a marriage. Auntie Kookoo

Answer 4

A vested interest? Yes, but not based on Christianity. Homosexuals want the right to marry, because they are born the way they are, but they are not the only ones. There are more than just homo and hetero sexuals. There are ones who are sexually attracted to both sexes, attracted to animals, attracted to the dead, to children, and to nothing at all. Granting homosexuals the right to marry would be discrimination against all the others, including the pedophiles, who were born that way and didn't choose it any more than homosexuals. If you are going to grant one groups rights, it has to be for all groups, otherwise it truly not an equal rights issue. Is the government willing to open that can of worms? Granted, it will not come about the day after homosexuals get the right to marry. It won't come about the month or year after. It may not even come about in my life time. But, giving homosexuals the right to marry is just a first step and what may come about one day in the future. A day when adults will have the right to marry young children, so that they can have sex with them.

Answer 5

It doesn't matter what they should be...it's in fact what they are now and always will be.

ANY Law School, teaches you, our Government makes laws according to majority. When the Constitution was made, Christians were the majority "at least the most present", during this time. The people are the Government and the majority of the people will always rule. That's why Laws are changing everyday. It's the political process. They will of the people are no longer a majority of Christians.
This will NOT change. People's VOTES...will RULE forever. This is exactly why.....YOUR VOTE counts.

It will become a time when our Laws are as low as low can get. Because of people are getting lower morals everyday. Thank God, most of these people are too lazy too vote, or we would be there now.
.

Good Q*.
.

Answer 6

Yes. Marriage is a form of contract that has significant social and economic impact on the society. Without clearly defined rules regarding this contract, ambiguity will lead to litigation. The only beneficiary of litigation is a law firm and we don't need to give THEM any more money.

HOW one defines marriage doesn't really matter as long as it is very clearly defined. This is where the influence of religion usually begins shifting the definition in a specific direction.

Answer 7

1. No
2. Because as long as people aren't hurting someone with their actions, there's no problem. Making someone feel uncomfortable is not reason to regulate the thing making them feel that way (ie gay marriage).
3. The only thing that should be regulated about marriage is age. Until you are an adult you don't have the ability to make the choices that serve you best and you need guidance. You should be able to marry as many women as you like (or men) as long as everyone agrees to it. This harms no one.

Atheist

Answer 8

I'm Christian.

I think the fundamental secular purpose of the institution of marriage is to provide a stable environment for the raising of children, which has a long-term benefit for society as a whole.

Answer 9

Our constitution has survived hundreds of years because of our involvment of God in Government. EVERY other governents in the world change every 20-40 years or so, but since we began ripping him out of everything our morals have gone to crap. Our blessing is declining, and now we have arrived at a sodom and gomorrah standpoint. God will destroy this country but not as long as his people are still in it but soon he will take us out and then America will have no more protection form the wrath of God which is upon all nations.

Answer 10

Governments should have no jurisdiction over marriage.