In America today, with an ever increasing emphasis on the separation of Church and State, the decision must be made whether things that are considered morally wrong, such as same sex marriages, should be prohibited solely on the premises of morals. To answer the question of whether gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry, the question of why the institution of marriage is valued so dearly in society today must be answered. To do this the meaning of the word marriage must be found, remembering that there are different levels in which marriage can be interpreted and/or evaluated.
             As with many other issues, when one tries to define the word marriage and its repercussions in society, several fundamental questions arise that must be answered in order to get a better understanding of the issue in question. Questions like: What is marriage defined as? In Webster's Dictionary, marriage is defined as "The institution whereby men and women are joined in special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family."(Merriam-Webster). This concept seems to have been perpetuated throughout history, one man and one woman joined "till death do them part"(Uncommon Knowledge). In cultures around the world, this notion of marriage has been around for countless centuries. But here we are at the beginning of the 21st century, and in this country, a debate is building over the definition of marriage; specifically, over same-sex marriage. It seem that the time has come to challenge the ideas we posses about marriage. Civil marriage and religious marriage are different institutions, but are often confused with each other because states allow the religious ceremony to double as the state ceremony. There are a variety of views of the purpose of marriage in the religious community; some think gender is irrelevant. Many religious organizations and people of faith have definitions that are differen...