Can’t We All Just Get Along By Having Religious Marriage and Civil Marriage?

MARRIAGE MATTERS

“Can’t We All Just Get Along By Having Religious Marriage and Civil Marriage?”

From the pamphlet “Why Not Gay Marriage?” by Glenn T. Stanton © 2005 Focus on the Family

Some ask, “Why can’t you just keep your religious idea of marriage, and just give us our own kind of civil marriage?”

Well, marriage is more than a religious institution. It shows up in all civilizations, not just Christian or religious ones.

Actually, marriage is a human institution that involves both church and state. Churches are interested in making sure marriages are healthy and strong, and city hall—as well as state and federal governments--is interested in what marriage provides society. Maggie Gallagher, a columnist who writes often about marriage, explains:

§ “There is scarcely a dollar that state and federal government spends on social programs that is not driven in large part by family fragmentation: crime, poverty, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, school failure, mental and physical health problems.”

Every society needs men and women to cooperate in founding homes and raising children, and marriage is the way all societies accomplish this.

Glenn T. Stanton is the director of social research and cultural affairs and senior analyst for marriage and sexuality at Focus on the Family. He is the author of Why Marriage Matters and Marriage on Trial: The Case Against Same-Sex Marriages and Parenting (with Bill Maier).