Originally Posted By: bonzi
I think that state should deal only in civil unions, i.e. all "state" marriages should be called the same (I personally don't see why the word cannot be "marriage", but don't see why is it so important, either). Then, the couple (or group) would have the choice to have legal contract, religious (or other) ceremony of their choice, or both (or neither, of course).


That's how it works here in The Netherlands. The only legally recognized marriage is the civil one - if you want to have a religious ceremony, feel free to have one, but you *do* need to have a civil servant perform the legal civil procedure for it to count.