purplerabbits

I agree, but I think to a large extent religions (basically Church of Scotland / England) have created a problem by being seen to marry people who clearly don't practice said religion, or who don't adhere to the teachings. They are entitled to be bigoted, but it would certainly be an improvement IMO if they were more consistent.

I think a lot of the problem stems from the fact that in this country, there is too much of a link between the religious and legal ceremonies. A religious ceremony is not a 'right', but I think a legal marriage / partnership should be, for consenting adults. It may be slightly better if Britain were to adopt the system of some European countries, where legal marriage is only performed by the state and any religious ceremony is quite separate and has no legal weight of its own.