Reply #9: I think marriage is silly.

[Evoman]

I wouldn't take my view as mainstream atheism, however. I'm not one for traditions...I have this need to analyze things that people take for granted, and most traditions just don't make sense to me. A part of the problem is that I don't think its necessary to do things just because they've "always been done". Lol...some people have called me hyper-rational for this reason.

Marriage to me is meaningless...yeah yeah its symbolic, whatever. Who cares. I'm not against it, I'm just indifferent to it. Its not like anything really changes afterwards...I mean, other than making it harder to leave if you have a problem with your spouse, what does marriage really change? Its like running in a field with your lover...your having fun in that great open field, feeling the freedom, smelling the flowers, etc. And then you look around and say...man..you know what would make this better..lets handcuff ourselves together and throw the keys in the grass.

The same goes for funerals..I hate them. I prefer to mourn on my own terms, and don't feel a need to go to some ceremony. I also hate graduation ceremonies, especially of the high school variety...I sit at the things, listen to some psuedo-philosopher yap about "paths" and "goals", and wait for the damn things to be over.

BUT, and this is a big but, I participate in these ceremonies regardless. To some extent, if you don't want to be miserable, you HAVE to. I feel nothing for thanksgiving or Christmas, but I enjoy spending the time with my family. I hate weddings, but I love the parties. I hate funerals, but I want to comfort my family. I will even get married some day...not because I care about marriage or some dumb symbolic bond....but because I love my girlfriend and don't want her to be unhappy. If she needs me to say words I am indifferent about, in order to be with her the rest of my days, then I will do it.

On edit: Lol..how about answering your question. How do I view it...religious or civil? Both. To me, their is no difference between civil unions and marriage...the end result is the same. Marriage has never REALLY been about a covenant with god...its always been more about property and passing assets than anything. People add meaning to it...some religious, some spiritual, some symbolic. If it was purely religious, then you wouldn't have tax benefits for it. If it was simply civil, like getting drivers license, people would do it for the benefits, and wouldn't care about who they were marrying.