Could this be a sign that the tide is changing? I never could figure
out why two people needed *GAWD*'s permission to have sex or raise
kids anyway.
http://tinyurl.com/q1p9
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Civil marriage on rise across USA
Tue Oct 7, 6:40 AM ET
By Cathy Lynn Grossman and In-Sung Yoo, USA TODAY
Fewer American couples who marry today see the need for religion's
approval. The rate of civil marriage is on the rise coast to coast, a
USA TODAY analysis of marriage license statistics suggests.
Experts say the trend could influence a larger debate: As fewer
Americans see a need for religious blessings on a marriage, they may
be more supportive of same-sex unions.
There's no national data on how many U.S. marriages are performed by
clergy vs. a civil authority such as a notary, judge or justice of the
peace. But in the 18 states that have tracked data for any significant
period of time since 1980:
14 showed a growing or essentially steady rate of civil marriages more
than 40% of marriages in 2001. That's up from about 30% in 1980.
Four showed a drop in civil-marriage rates: South Carolina, where a
legal change stopped judges from getting paid for weddings (but the
state still has one of the highest civil-marriage rates); Utah, with
its large, family-centered Mormon population; and tourism havens
Hawaii and Tennessee, where visitors flock to be quickly wed by
non-denominational ministers.
The pattern probably is similar nationwide. "My daughter (Jane
Campbell), the mayor of Cleveland, does more weddings than I do," says
the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell of Chautauqua, N.Y., who is ordained in
both the Disciples of Christ and the American Baptist churches.
What's behind the changing view of "I do"?
University of Washington sociologist Pepper Schwartz, author of
American Couples, cites high divorce and remarriage rates, more
interfaith marriages and more personalized ideas on spirituality.
"We believe more in the church of 'My Way,' a shift in the sense of
the ultimate authority from God and church elders to our own soulful
searches," she says.
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John Hachmann, aa #1782
Pierre Laplace, when asked by Napoleon on why he made
no mention of a god in his book on astronomy: "Sire,
I have no need of that hypothesis."
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