Convert marriages to civil unions

Last week, after President Bush made his unfortunate statement regarding gay marriage, I was speaking to Chris, a friend of mine who happens to be gay and also happens to have just graduated from a seminary uptown. The conversation turned to talk of the “we are all sinners” statement. After a few minutes of discussing the appropriateness of such a comment and the invasion of religious doctrine into government policy Chris made a brilliant observation: because marriage is a religious rite it technically does not fall under the purview of the government. He went on to say that all “marriages” should actually be civil unions, that clergy should be stripped of their power to act in the name of the state, and instead anyone wishing to be “married” should be required to apply for a civil union at a courthouse and if one chooses, to be married in the ecclesiastical sense separately. His argument is that not only does this provide for equal treatment under the law but that it enhances the sanctity of the marriage rite and further separates religion from civil government.