IS MARRIAGE A RELIGIOUS OR CIVIL LAW INSTITUTION?

Is Marriage a Religious or Civil Law Institution?
By Brannon Howse

An article in Catholic News Agency recently reported that:

Doug Kmiec, a prominent Catholic who backed Barack Obama's presidential bid, has endorsed replacing marriage with a neutral "civil license," a proposal law professor Robert P. George called a "terrible idea" that would make the government neglect a vital social institution.

Speaking to CNSNews.com, Pepperdine University law professor Doug Kmiec said that although his solution to disputes over the definition of marriage might be "awkward," it would "untie the state from this problem" by creating a new terminology that would apply to everyone, homosexual or not. "Call it a 'civil license'," he said.

"The net effect of that, would be to turn over–quite appropriately, it seems to me, the concept of marriage to churches and a church understanding," he said.

Sadly, even some republicans are agreeing with Mr. Kmiec, which will ensure the Republican Party will continue to lose elections. What Mr. Kmiec and many republicans do not understand is that marriage is both a religious and civil law issue.

God created family government, civil government, and church government and he intended for them to have different areas of responsibility while also working in harmony with one another. Jesus, in Matthew 22 says that we are to render unto Caesars what is Caesars and unto God that which is God's. Many believe that Jesus is only referring to taxes but in fact, Jesus is also stating that there are responsibilities that belong to government and to the church and His ideal plan is that they are not to work in opposition with one another.   

Unlike Americans today, the Founders did not see religion and law as opponents but as "twin sisters."  James Wilson wrote, "Far from being rivals or enemies, religion and law are twin sisters, friends, and mutual assistants. Indeed, these two sciences run into each other. The divine law, as discovered by reason and the moral sense, forms and essential part of both."

Oliver Ellsworth who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court clearly reveals that one main reason for the institution of government is the promotion of morality.  "The primary objects of government are peace, order, and prosperity of society. ..To the promotion of these objects, particularly in a republican government, good morals are essential. Institutions for the promotion of  good morals are therefore objects of legislative provision and support: among these…religious institutions are eminently useful and important…The legislature, charged with the great interests of the community, may, and ought to countenance, aid and protect religious institutions-institutions wisely calculated to direct men to the performance of all the duties arising from their connection with each other, and to prevent or repress those evils which flow from unrestrained passion."

Jedediah Morse also reveals the deep connection between our form of government and the Biblical institution of marriage. "To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys…Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican form of government, and all blessings which flow from them must fall with them."

In thinking and researching this issue, I have come up with ten reasons why marriage must remain as one man and one woman and must remain as a civil law and religious institution.

1.     America is a constitutional republic that is not to go against the law of the Divine an thus the founders said religion and law are twin sisters. Religion, morality and knowledge was the goal of the Northwest Ordinance which is one of our nation's organic documents. To be a territory that was accepted into the Union, they had to submit an application that showed respect for the Norwest Ordinance  which is why many state constitutions use the phrase, religion, morality and knowledge. The founders knew that only through morality, which comes from religion would our nation thrive and survive. By religion they did not mean any particular denomination but a belief in and a commitment to the principles and virtues prescribed by God and his moral law. All government support, promote and discriminate against religion and morality. The question is what religion and what morality.

2.     God sees marriage as a life-long commitment or contract. God clearly states that He hates divorce. A certificate of divorce was granted to couples by Moses under certain circumstances. Notice that the one granting this was Moses who was the civil leader, not Aaron who was the High Priest. Thus further revealing that marriage is a civil and religious institution.

3.     The founders loved freedom and wanted as little government as possible and thus people had to be self-governed. The founders saw marriage as an institution where people were self-governed in choosing who they married instead of arranged marriages as in the Old Country. The founder's saw the family as the institution that was to raise up self-governed children who would be self-governed adults and leaders of the republic. James Wilson, a member of the Constitutional Congress and later Supreme Court justice wrote in 1790 that "to the institution of marriage the true origin of society must be traced." The founders saw the family as the building block and strength of the nation and the preservation of its freedoms under limited government and expansive self-governing. John Adams wrote, "The foundations of national morality must be laid in private families."

4.     Marriage is a vow before God but it is also a covenant or contract to which is tied, children, property rights and inheritance and thus marriage is both a religious and civil law institution.

5.     In the late 1960s divorce laws become very liberal and divorce was very easily obtained. The drastic increase in divorce began to break-down the strength, respect and permanency of the covenant or contract of marriage in the civil arena.  No fault-divorce made divorce fast, and allowed people to divorce without admitting fault or accepting responsibility. 

6.     In 1972 in the Stanley v. Illinois case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that custody laws that distinguished between married and unmarried fathers was "constitutionally repugnant." Fathers would be given the same rights and face no consequences for fathering a child outside of the covenant and contract of marriage. Thus, one of the main reasons for entering into the religious and civil covenant and contract of marriage was removed. Those who were married and those who were not married where given the same respect and legal standing.

7.      Divorce and illegitimacy greatly destroyed the institution of the family that was to be the incubator for creating and nurturing self-governed offspring that would maintain and safeguard the republic.

8.     The post-modern belief of "freedom" being the right to do whatever works for you and makes you happen has actually destroyed our country. The founders saw freedom as the right to life, liberty and property as a by-product of fulfilling one's responsibility to the laws of the Divine. In other words, they did not believe in all the rights without any of the responsibilities.

9.     With the rise of divorce and illegitimacy among heterosexuals and particularly the church, we have weakened the commitment that marriage is about producing offspring. Thus, we have played right into the hands of the homosexual community that use the high divorce and illegitimacy rate to say that marriage has nothing to do with children.

10.            The cultural Marxists have used the civil law and courts to encourage the destruction of the family, fathers, and rise of the welfare-nanny state. The high rates of divorce and illegitimacy has been the leading cause of generational poverty, the underclass, discrimination, and the rise of the welfare state.

The founders and God's Word sees marriage as both a civil and religious issue.

By Brannon Howse Email: Brannon@worldviewweekend.com Click here for bio and archived articles

Gov't interest in Marriage is Procreation Posted On: 08/14/09 06:40:59 PM Age 44, IL I agree that marriage is a civil and religious institution. I believe that in the debate over the proper CIVIL definition and role of marriage, we must focus on the procreation aspect. I have blogged about this at http://truthis.blogtownhall.com/2009/05/17/the_marriage_debate.thtml The government's interest, if not religiously motivated (which under today's climate get's no traction in the statehouses) must be based on the interest in procreation. Marriage has always been a relationship that is procreative by design, even though particular individuals may be disabled or may interfere with the natural design and thus be fruitless. The government has an interest in more people being born, thus has reason to provide incentives (tax preferences, etc) to married couples. Did I miss something Posted On: 07/02/09 01:48:29 AM Age 53, WV I do agree with the writer on all his points but I must point too Paul's writings to justify why I will not fight nor argue on this matter. For in Romans we learn that this is pre-ordained by God; he has sent to them a spirit too make them happy within their sins. We are to judge them but among ourselves only. Those who are Christian are to live as much as possible in harmony with the world. Who am I to argue with the most High? Should I stand and say Lord your writing is wrong I do not agree? We are to only judge fellow professing Christians and leave everyone else alone , we are to live as holy lives as possible; we are too be shining lights of his glory for all to see. And here we find another difficulty how many of you have given true aid to your fellow church members? Are there any who are hungry? Any in need of money? Or do you send that which could help your brethren to a fund which gives aid to those not of the flock? Pearls cast to swine.... do you know anyone who is in need? did you help? Remember Jesus said to take the log out of your own eye before you judge others. I count this all as another marker to the last days of evil upon the earth and the glory of his coming. Would they even want "gay marriage" if there were no tax or SS benefits? Posted On: 06/24/09 09:42:09 AM Age 36, TX I highly doubt most "gays" actually want to get "married", for most of them their "lifestyle" is non-monogomous (obviously with a few rare exceptions), but even then, what if there were no social security program or income tax system to begin with? All these socialist programs are also the direct cause of our problem with hords of illegal aliens. There is a huge incentive for non-productive type people to leech off the system. If government would simply get their ugly nose out of our private affairs, including getting rid of ALL socialist programs, there wouldn't be such a fuss over gay marriage. You can't legislate morality, but you can certainly remove the incentive for a lot of immoral behaviour. The early colonists in America found this out the hard way when their communist lifestyle led to starvation and half the population dying that first winter. ....swallowing camels Posted On: 06/19/09 04:16:08 PM Age 56, NY I am radically passionate about marriage being between a man and a woman and opposed to gay marriage (an oxymoron at best). However, a real problem with this issue is, the church as a whole and christian people in general weren't concerned about the 30-40 progression of cultural immorality until it attacked us personally and we feel it's effects. We must stop asking God to "bless the status quo" and be ultimately concerned for the people who are enslaved in sexual sin (one being homosexuality) and the eternal state of their souls. Seek God for repentance in a backslidden church and a moral revival that will set millions free! Only then will be begin to win this cultural battle. Its not just the marriage issue Posted On: 06/19/09 01:27:30 PM Age 48, NM The countrys lack of morals in all areas of life is really the issue. Marriage is only the lastest instution to fall. We are progressing from a republic to a demcoratic from of goverment to a oligargh (spelling ,sorry about it). We may become solialist, fasists, commies who knows. It is to late and we deserve what we get. Find comfort in knowing God is at work even though we will all suffer. I am not innconent either. The Truth about Gay Marriages Posted On: 06/19/09 03:11:00 AM Age 43, TX Why don't these politicians look at the average lifespan age and the stats on lifelong monomogamy among those in the lifestyle. Have these guys wimped out or are they wanting them to die early? This position is how Christians can be for righteous marriages and the life interest of those who oppose. In His Grace, Gary religous or civil Posted On: 06/18/09 08:00:36 PM Age 63, DE Are you really serious about the comments you just made? We really are living in the time when men call evil good and good evil. I think you should check your thinking with what the Bible...God's word says about the issue of marriage. Do you know more than God? SOME SERIAL MURDERERS ACTED LIKE NICE PEOPLE Posted On: 06/18/09 02:29:06 PM Age 65, OH Many people who claim to be Christians are not loyal to one another. Does that make The Lord Jesus Christ any less Lord of all that exists. It is a poor witness to the world but has NO bearing on what is true and what is false. The mafia are very loyal to each other, even to the point of murdering anyone who opposes a member of their group. But that so called loyalty does not make the mafia a good organization for any nation. God who is the Author of all truth has said that homosexuality is an abomination (or filthy). The fact that some homosexuals seem faithful to one another has no bearing on homosexuality being good or evil. I read of some bank robbers who were merciful and really nice people other than robbing banks; but they were still bank robbers and a curse to the nation they lived in. Think what any nation would be like, if all the people were thieves. If all the people on this earth were homosexual, man would cease to exist in a very few years. Any nation that has accepted homosexuality as normal has fallen. If our nation allows homosexual marriage or unions it will fall. - Lou Newton Let Homosexuals Marry and let's repeal DOMA Posted On: 06/18/09 12:17:32 PM Age 59, VA I have 2 friends who live in New York City who are homosexual men. After living with one another for more than 30 years they finally got married in Canada. I am happy for them. Their emotional bond is strong and their commitment to one another is good for them and good for society. This is true even if one does not approve of the sexual acts they may perform. I rejoice in the fact that their relationship has finally been recognized by the laws of Canada. Unfortunately, their relationship is NOT recognized by our federal government given the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The DOMA prevents my friends from filing a joint federal income tax return (they pay more in taxes because they have to file 2 separate returns). Also, because of the DOMA, if one of them dies, the other cannot collect social security benefits as a survivor. Also, for purposes of the federal pension law (ERISA), the two are not considered married and therefore spouse 2 cannot collect pension benefits as spouse 1's beneficiary. The DOMA is offensive and discriminatory legislation that should be repealed as soon as possible. I pray that the repeal succeeds. Religous or civil Posted On: 06/18/09 11:36:59 AM Age 56, MO Well put! It really should not be surprising but angering yes! Back in the mid eighties one of the largest 'retirement org. club' wrote in their monthly magazine that in order to remove Christianity (rid society of the only true God) was by pulling the nails out slowly. When I read that I was in a backslid state, But that opened my eye's to what was actually going on! It is satans way to move oh so slowly by widening the gray areas so he can divide and conquer! I'm not sure who said that we will be seeing the "gray" area between good and evil start to narrow sharply. It is so true, now these people are coming out of the wall leaning way south! Anyone in their right mind can see that there is design in all of Gods creation, so yes marriage is from the beginning from God, even if two people (man and woman) are secular! Just as big and fat humpty dumpty this nation is having a great fall. When that fall takes place? Only God knows! We are greatful for Brannon's God given talent! God bless