Many people believe that “The State” -the government- should get out of the marriage business altogether. There are two main reasons for this belief. One is the presumed doctrine of separation of church and state, as furthered by those who don’t approve of any religious influence in government (more on the separation doctrine tomorrow). The other side is those people of faith who don’t approve of governmental influence on religion. However, the government recognized marriage as an important component of civilized society and decided to bestow certain benefits on married couples, in order to encourage people to get married, as … Continue reading →