If you are atheist, is there any reason why you shouldn't get married?

Question

I believe marriage was founded on religious tradition and so I feel wrong about getting married,
What is your opinion?

Answer 1

Eh. I don't know many people who see it as a religious thing anymore. If I get married, it will be in front of a judge, not a priest. It's just a piece of paper you need for tax purposes - it doesn't change anything.

Answer 2

Marriage was founded on property ownership tradition. Since then it has been used to create a civil bond between two people.

This is the same argument that religious conservatives are making in their attempt to keep same-sex marriage out of the picture. It is a false argument because they are blurring the line between civil marriage and religious marriage.

It is the civil marriage that provides people with many rights (over 1,100 on the federal level). This is why you do not have to have a wedding in a church. You can be married by a JOP, if you wish. That's the one that's mandatory. In fact, the churches were originally banned from performing weddings in the colonies because it was seen as a civil matter and the functions of church and state were to be kept separate.

Get married if you want to. Don't let a bad, religious right argument prevent you from having the rights and safe-guards you deserve.

Answer 3

Whether or not marriage was founded on religious tradition or not, if you and another are in love with each other and wish to get married, then do so.
.

Answer 4

Marriage is one of the only things that is common to almost every society. I don't feel that it is a religious tradition. I feel that religions have embraced the idea of marriage, and made it their own through ceremony. If you want to be married, you can simply have a nonreligious wedding, or no wedding at all.

Answer 5

Anybody who wants to get married should. Even though there is no god, what's wrong with a little religious tradition now and then?

Answer 6

You can get a marraige by the state, or even get a athiest church like "the church of the vampire", "the temple of set". Marriage is just a union between man and a woman, no more than a legal contract in our society. Their is even common law marraige were if you live with a girl for 6 months and are having sex, you are technicaly married.

Answer 7

Just be sure to marry another atheist. If you marry a religious person your marriage will not last.

Answer 8

Yes, because marriage is a discriminatory institution in the US (not sure about other countries). As a kind of protest against the legal (and illegal) benefits that are bestowed upon married couples, you could openly announce your intention to never marry, even though you intend to live with your loved one for the rest of your life.

Answer 9

Not really. Marriage is just an extension of the partially-natural monogamous relationships that human beings have always had. That's not to say that it's unnatural to be with multiple people, because whatever floats your boat stops you from sinking.

Single-mate relationships became part of religion because it was what was mostly tolerated. Now, it doesn't have much to do with religion and there are some economical benefits to it, but that's mostly it.

Answer 10

Marriage is a commitment to another person. Meant to be a life long thing.

I am not Christian - but marriage is very important to me.

Now-a-days people tend to associate marriage with Christianity. In reality, marriage is between you and your spouse - a long term commitment to one person. When you love someone so much that you desire to be with them and no one else.

Perhaps when you met a person that you long to be with because you literally love them more every day you are with them, you views on marriage will change.

Don't throw marriage out because people have placed various religious connotations on it over the centuries.