[TheSpiceIsLife]

The best thing about this comment is: This opinion doesn't matter any more.

Whether officiated by a religious order, the state, or the word of those involved, 'marriage' is just a word, a concept, and has many permutations.

The new Marriage is unbounded by anyone else's beliefs.

The old Marriage is concerned with law, religion, and society. And sometimes we need to drop down a gear and consider these things, but law, religion, and society do not a marriage make.

It is the combination or mixture of elements that gives rise to something new, something neither of the elements alone is capable of, that is a 'marriage'.

[geff82]

Marriage is simply a human need as long as it still takes 20-30 years to raise children. If you do not at least promise your partner to be there until the end of life, there can be no (perceived?) certainity that you are not shooting yourself in the foot by getting children. And because raising kids takes so long, and needs full energy by a couple, society (religion, state, etc) supports being loyal to each other in many ways.

And it is good that way.