Reply #73: Though I don't wish to limit the freedoms of consenting adults

[fnottr]

Yes, you are correct in that there is nothing directly religious about these covenant marriages, technically there are simply an alternative form of the marriage contract. However, you're going to have a hard time convincing me that there is no underlying fundamentalist Christian motive behind these. Look at the name alone, 'Covenant Marriage' that name is just dripping with biblical connotations.

This is the crux of the issue to me. The way I see civil marriage is that since it is the single most common type of legal contract, the state has conveniently drawn up a standard version of that contract so that getting married is not an complicated legal task. A couple is still free to modify that contract to fit their needs through a prenuptial agreement. A couple could conceivable get a something like a covenant marriage through a prenuptial, and if they want to do this, more power to them.