non-religious people could get married in most cultures and only very
recently that society has begun to heap rewards (financial and societal) on
married people.
But marriage, traditionally (but non-religiously), is a formal, public
statement of commitment. That statement of commitment is very important to
many people. My wife and I are atheists, but we still wished to publicly
acknowledge our wish to stay together, our commitment to one another.
It's an ethical question as well. As an atheist I know that I won't be able
to lead an awful life and worm my way out of it at the last minute by
claiming "I see the light". I know that my only enduring legacy will be the
memories of those still living that knew me. I want them to know of my
clear commitment to this woman. I want them to remember us fondly and well,
husband and wife.
There's also a societal gain in that "wife" means more than "girlfriend".
The word to describe the relationship is weighted as to the seriousness of
the relationship. In the US we still don't have a term that connotes the
same thing as "wife" without the marriage ceremony.
But there are huge financial and convenience gains to marriage as well.
Although most of our gay friends are most interested in obtaining that
clear, public affirmation of their relationship that a marriage ceremony
provides.
Jim Davis
From: Monique Boea [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 3:56 PM
To: CF-Community
Subject: RE: Civil Union (was RE: Senate rejects move to ban same-sex
marriage)
so what do non-religious people get married for? The financial benefit?
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