To quote my friend Brian on Live Journal......

I saw this comment following a news article dealing with the California Supreme Court decision about gay marriage: 

"Gay couples should have the same tax/government rights as heterosexual married people, but marriage is a religious word defined by a man and a woman's union under God. It's pretty simple, gay unions shouldn't be called marriage, it should be called a union. "

The problem I have with the argument that 'marriage' is an exclusively religious term is that, well... its not. Marriage has been a secular, legal, economic institution for a long time in this country. People may choose to have their marriage performed and blessed in a religious context if they so desire. By the argument of the above person 2 atheists who have a completely secular marriage ceremony presided over by a secular government official aren't really married, but legally and by common consent the 2 are married, so just based on that no one can make the argument that the term marriage is the specific property of religious institutions.

In the end, all a specific religious institution can decide is whether they themselves will preform same sex marriages or recognize them within their organization, they have no right to dictate whom the government gives marriage licenses out to.

P.S. Just out of curiousity I looked up the word marriage in the Oxford Dictionary and there was not a single mention of religion in the definition, while the legal/ government aspect of it was mentioned. 

I totally respect and agree with this opinion!