But in that time there were also ecclesiastical courts, so not everything was handled by the State: this is the root of the disagreement between myself and Ansel12 — I do not believe that the government should be involved in defining marriage, he does; I do not believe that making a law
will solve the problem, he does; I believe the best way to remedy this is for Christians to act like marriage is sacred (something disproved, in general, by divorce-rate statistics [and accepting divorce for any-old-reason]) and Ansel [apparently] does not.
“But in that time there were also ecclesiastical courts, so not everything was handled by the State:”
Alfred the Great uses religious imagery but he wasn’t the head of the church and his legal code wasn’t ecclesiastical. The legal code of the Dome Book deals with oaths, injuries and sexual offenses and is a basis for common law.
Marriage is a cultural institution and reflects the culture of its society. Britain was part of Christendom. Christendom was synonymous with Western civilization. American culture is part of that heritage. Or it least it has been. If libertarian characters like John Fund get their way it will become less so.
The move to separate marriage and government has long been popular with liberals and libertarians who dislike Christian sexual mores. The sexual liberation of the ‘60s was a great triumph for both groups.
I’m waiting to see how this latest war on Christian derived marriage plays out when Islamics start demanding the right to practice polygamy.