Although a mere note at the end… the idea of separating legal and religious “marriage” is really the best idea of the whole article. No mainstream church I know has a religious divorce, but Wicca (my religion by the way) does have a “handparting” ceremony which would be the equivalent. No one, including me, would think it a good idea to ask the State to accept the legality of such a rite.
The legal and religious comingling of the notion of “marriage” was fine as long as the religious and secular view of the two did not clash. It is obvious that now they do. Time to separate them. However, it is only part of the solution. Having all couples, gay or straight, have civil unions takes away the “inequality” for gays and takes away the legal word “marriage” for gay unions for those whose religion cannot abide with such an idea. However, then we have to decide what a “civil union” is, why we have them and who is legally eligible to enter into such.
