03-29-2010, 09:49 PM
marshlander Wrote:Nice to have some good news. I'd have been irritated by the helicopters, though! I notice that all the weddings were conducted by a "reverend", which I have always assumed is a religious title. Is that normal in the USA? Our civil partnerships are conducted by registrars with no religious connection at all. In France the PACS is more like going to a solicitor to sign a legal document.
Marshlander, first, this was not a "civil partnership". There are different classes in the U.S. Domestic Partnerships, Civil Unions, and Marriages, depending on the State/local laws and what is allowed for same sex couples and/or what their personal preference is. Secondly, there are two things typically needed for marriage (civil unions and domestic partnerships typically look like what you describe as civil partnerships in England and France). The first is a legal contract which one obtains at a local office from a registrar or clerk. The second is typically a formal oath taking (wedding ceremony) with witnesses and some sort of officiant. Traditionally, there are three options for an officiant . . . a member of the clergy, a justice of the peace (judge), or a military officer (ship's captain). Though, these days anyone can be licensed to perform wedding ceremonies. Essentially, it is up to the couple to decide who is to officiate the ceremony. So, in the instance above, for whatever reason, the couples chose to have a member of the clergy do the ceremony/oath taking rather than a justice of the peace or some other licensed individual.
And, yes, Reverend is a title for a member of the clergy, typically a protestant Christian sect of some sort or another (don't know which ones, e.g. the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King) though it may also be Unitarian Universalist.
In other words, there is nothing that requires the Marriage to be religious, but it can be if one wishes. But this is also interesting to me. In past conversations I have seen on here, it seems that the bishops of the Anglican Church are in some way involved in government. Is that true? I know that the Church of England has historically been tied to the government itself, but is it still? That seems very odd from an American perspective. Here, a member of the clergy may, if they wish, run for public office like anyone else, but there is nothing that grants them immediate access due to their religious post. For instance, former American President Jimmy Carter--in addition to being a nuclear physicist, peanut farmer, and Nobel Laureate—is or was a member of the Baptist clergy.
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