I didnt fancy crapping on some guys thread in GD, so here goes here instead.


Its odd that so many more people are atheists or other nowadays, yet marriage is as popular as ever.

The way I see it is people just accept it as the norm despite its massively religious meaning, under the eyes of god and all that, so if you dont believe in god, then why are you even doing it?

Because it also has legal implications.

Marriage isnt only a religious institution and hasnt been for a long time. It is in the legal system too. Really its a contract, the religious part may have originally been it but it now goes beyond that. An unmarried partner doesnt have the same legal rights that a married one does, especially if the other person dies.

Its only had a religious meaning since the Council of Trent in the mid-sixteenth century when the church decided that a marriage wasnt valid unless it was performed by a priest, primarily because this turned marriage which, until that point, had been a purely contractual affair, into a nice little money spinner for the church which had hugely influential powers at the time both in law and over the general opinion of the masses.

Marriage has existed long before any of the modern churches, originally as a contract between two families.

Now, like Christmas, any religious connotation is purely voluntary. My wife and I got married because we are very much in love and its just a nice thing to do. There was exactly zero religious overtones to the ceremony, which was purely secular.

Marriage now also confers certain benefits regarding taxation etc, rights when you are dead/dying for your partner and also certain rights should you split up.

Its also a great excuse for a party.

Why do many atheists use the cuss "For gods sake!" for that matter

marriage must have been a womans invention.. even down to the divorce & awarded them everything.

Partly it was men who didnt fancy looking after other blokes kids. It also helped prevent issue over who could have a relationship with who. Incredibly important issues in small communities.

Quote from: zpyderWhy do many atheists use the cuss "For gods sake!" for that matter

Force of Habit/prevailing culture I guess. When speaking English I try to say Gosh instead, but Japanese has so many better ones.

Quote from: zpyderWhy do many atheists use the cuss "For gods sake!" for that matter

I try not to take anyones Lords name in vain and instead opt to use more vulgar language

You can always use Gordon Bennett instead.

You never know what religious fanatic is standing behind you with a knife, gun and pack of explosives

Some good points guys, cheers for that, still not my cuppa tea mind

Quote from: GoblinIts only had a religious meaning since the Council of Trent...

Completely agree. Ive always found it funny that traditional Shinto ceremonies are being largely abandoned in favor of white weddings.
More pomp and circumstance I suppose, or a result of pick & mix cultural blending.

Marriage is also a good way of getting free stuff! ...presents in other words!

Call me cynical but thats what always crosses my mind when I get a invite to one  and the wedding present list is produced!

Quote from: ShaunMarriage is also a good way of getting free stuff! ...presents in other words!

Call me cynical but thats what always crosses my mind when I get a invite to one  and the wedding present list is produced!

for the average wedding it would be a full order of magnitude cheaper to just buy the gifts yourself.

acording to my Fiancees wedding magazines, the average wedding currently costs ~£25 grand and the average total value of gifts given is £2500.

Its silly. A step cousin was stating how her fiancee couldnt believe how expensive it is, with the example of the photographer costing £500.

Itd be cheaper and much more memorable to spend half that on disposable cameras for all the guests to take snaps throughout  the ceremony etc. Id reckon thered be quite a few high quality shots as no doubt on top of the £500 for the "professional" itd cost ££ per photo they want printed afterwards!

Weddings are only expensive if you want them to be, theres plenty of ways to budget or economise without losing out, the problem is a lot of couples wont compromise and suffer for it just to make the big day extra special. Frankly Id rather not waste the money and lose sleep over it, a lot of people dont seem to actually enjoy the day becuase they are stressing over everything going well.

The problem with wedding photographers too these days is that a lot of them are simply amateurs with a few nice lenses and no real idea of how to properly shoot crowd scenes and capture the moment type stuff. Any Tom, Dick or Harry with a dSLR can be a photographer these days. Thankfully some of my friends are actual photographers and work with them so I would get a friend of a friend to do pro snaps and do one of the disposable camera deals as well.

Id rather spent all the money on good food and buying/renting a nice dress to please the new missus, the rest would go towards things that matter beyond the day like the house, etc