[dragonwriter]

> marriage is a religious institution, seems pretty clear.

Marriage has been a civic institution arranging property and legal rights as long as it has been a religious institution.

The separate civic and religious functions were often intertwined in societies which did not separate Church and State, but there are clear and separate served by the now-separate civic and religious institutions sharing the same name.

[cmdrfred]

I'd like to see a source for that. Early government was religious in nature (Many kings were considered gods). What is your solution? Change the name? I can agree with that as long as 'married' people don't get any benefits that unmarried people do not.