Marriage was originaly a strictly religious institution that has been adopted by the government.

But why is it that as a religious person you (or anyone else who cares to reply) can't separate these concepts? For a lot of people (myself obviously included) marriage has little if anything to do with religious beliefs and I think that is why many people get offended when they are told what to do by a church. FWIW, I have no personal interest in this matter (being both straight and painfully single), but I don't understand why people feel that their religious beliefs should affect other peoples lives.

-Mike