New Controversial 'Marriage Question'
 

Thank you, Friday13thFan...You caused me to think about this...



If our country TRULY practices 'freedom of religion' and 'separation of church and state'...Why aren't Pagan, Wiccan, Native American, and all other 'ritualistic' forms of marriage accepted?

What I mean is...If EVERYONE'S religion, is relevant and respected...WHY are only 'Christian' marriage ceremonies accepted by LAW?

We've had the 'Gay Marriage' debate a million times.....This is completely different...

It seems to me that in a 'democracy' where all people are considered equal, and we are permitted to practice whatever religion we choose, that the binding rituals we perform to unite ourselves to one another according to OUR religious beliefs, should be just as legitimate, LEGALLY BINDING, and afford the exact same recognition and benefits as the Christian marriage ceremony...

Don't you find it a little odd that we can't have prayer in school, or post the ten commandments anywhere NEAR a government facility...BUT, the only LEGAL form of marriage that is recognized by our 'Religion-Free Government' is CHRISTIAN???

I cannot believe that it never occured to me to question this before...

just because you're allowed to practice whichever religion you choose, doesn't mean it's going to be one that's recognized. are you sure that the religions you listed are recognized by the USA? i'm not so sure the answer is going to be yes

in any case, you're right, technically there should be a seperation of church and state, but as you can see there isn't one.

however, that fact doesn't really matter. what does matter is that the churches that perform marriages are overwhelmingly christian. good luck trying to get a wiccan married in a christian church. they wouldn't allow that, and as far as i know they have a right to refuse their services

in any event, i'd treat this the same way as i treat the gay marriage debate. hell, i consider homosexuals to still be in a worse situation than those of different religions. why? because they still can't get married.

people of ANY religious practice can go to court and be married, gays still can't.

if you really want to be married, go to court, get your marriage license, then have a party aftewards with your rituals, or whatever you want to do

in a democracy its pretty much 'majority rules'

you guys in the USA havent exactly separated Church and State.
It is a Christian majority in the USA by far and they arent willing to recognize anything else .. and you always have a good god fearing christian in the whitehouse to keep the status quo.

this isnt right .. but its the way it is.

the day that wiccans or pagans or keebler elfs can elect a majority government of their own kind .. you'll see those marriages happen ..

dont hold your breath.

great minds ... or eyes .. whatever.. think alike :)

What Wiccan would WANT to be married in a Christian church?...That's part of my point...

One of the MAJOR reasons that this country was even FOUNDED was because we left England to 'Flee from Religious Persecution'

Why should people of other religions be FORCED to carry out Christian ceremonies, just to be 'legally married'?......What if a Christian was told that THEIR marriage 'didn't count' unless it was performed the same way that another religion may consider valid?...Christian marriage ceremonies would actually be 'blasphemous' in the face of other religions, would they not?

I believe that you can be married under "any" type of religious service as long as the person perfoming the ceremony is licensed to perform a marriage....does not have to be a priest....you can hire a justice of the peace to marry you wherever and however you like...

This is true...BUT, how likely are you to find a 'justice of the peace' that knows the ways of each individual religion?....Most other religions consider 'marriage' to be sacred, and only allow those among themselves to perform these ceremonies...And while the ceremonies ARE performed, all the time in this country, they are NOT recognized as legitimate...That's the problem I'm having with it...

To be perfectly honest...I'm not really 'religious'...I have my own beliefs but, I'm not taking anyone's 'side'

For me, this question isn't even about RELIGION.......It's really only to address the blatant HYPOCRISY of it all........It's bullshit...

heh, better question, who aside from christians would want to be married in a christian church? :P

yes, to flee from religious persecution, but of what religion were those who fled? christians :P christians fled from religious persecution to remain christian. i'm sure the founding fathers never imagined that so many religious practices would be around today. you can't judge this on something that occured 250 years ago :P

and there's not point in asking these "what if" questions. ask them all you like, it's not going to change anything. the fact of the matter is that christians hold the majority, as they probably always will, and that's how things are

fact stands, that the religions you want to be recognized aren't, and they probably never will be. does it suck? yes. can you do anything about it? nope.

christians are hypocrits, i know it all too well. unfortunately there isn't much to be done about it =/

as i said, you're allowed to perform whatever rituals you want, they're just not going to be legally binding. if you want that, go to court and get a license.

be thankful you can at least get married :rolleyes:

A justice will "read" just about anything you put in front of him for you...

Hypocrisy is what this country was founded on in the first place....we went to war over a 3 cent tax increase!(on tea!)

This country was founded by white slave owners who wrote
"all men are created equal"

i can go on and on....but my blood pressure tends to go up...

LMAO....Can't argue with that...So, I guess I'm done....

And as Rotting Eye stated, nothing can be done about it......Now, I'm wondering whatever happened to the 'We can accomplish ANYTHING' mentality.....Damn, this country sucks on so many levels.....But, we all have to admit that we're STILL better off than most OTHER countries....Which, kinda makes it even more sad.....