Would you get married in a church?

[Geek]

I wouldnt have a religious ceremony, not sure if you can have a civil ceremony in a church?

You can get a none religious ceremony; they last about 30mins rather than the few hours of a religious one.

I'd like to get married in a church and I'm not religious; my bf "thinks" he is religious; but he isn't.

 

[Skidder]

few hours of a religious one.
.

may be greek orthodox or something but a CofE wedding can be over in under an hour

Yes, the vicars may spout some rubbish but it doesn't actually last that long.

 

[I get around]

I would never want to get married let alone in a church
Up to the missus, but i aint proposing because it's a religious ceremony and i'm as unreligious as it gets.

 

[Abraham]

I would never want to get married let alone in a church
Up to the missus, but i aint proposing because it's a religious ceremony and i'm as unreligious as it gets.

what's religious about it if it's not in a church?

 

[Abraham]

You can get a none religious ceremony; they last about 30mins rather than the few hours of a religious one.

I'd like to get married in a church and I'm not religious; my bf "thinks" he is religious; but he isn't.

you can have a non-religious ceremony in a church? any source?

 

[RDM]

I would never want to get married let alone in a church
Up to the missus, but i aint proposing because it's a religious ceremony and i'm as unreligious as it gets.

Marriage isn't a religious ceremony, it is a legal process. If you intend to stay with someone for the rest of your life then it is well worth doing.

 

[Gaz1988]

definatly wont be getting married in a church, probably a nice hotel or something instead.

 

[semi-pro waster]

you can have a non-religious ceremony in a church? any source?

I think it would be correct to say that you can have a non-religious ceremony in some churches but really it is a matter than you would be best discussing with your local minister or religious leader, that way you can find out if they have any objections to a non-religious ceremony in their place of worship - some will mind, others probably won't. I don't believe there is any document or legislation to suggest that a church must allow a non-religious service there, it will be a matter for their discretion as a private body.

 

[oweneades]

Yes, I would. No, I would not care that I am not religious. It would be the setting not the connotations I would be doing it for.

I'd probably choose a castle. Just as lovely a building, a fair bit less common, without the centuries of insanity.

This...

I got married in church as I wanted to get married in church (and so did my wife).

 

[jamief]

I used to consider myself an atheist, but I'd probably veer more towards agnostic nowadays. I find it really odd that so many people who consider themselves atheists vehemently attack anyone who chooses to believe.

I got married in a church 2 weeks ago - was a lovely ceremony. My wife is religious, I am not; the minister was aware of this and it wasn't an issue (it wasn't even mentioned, in fact). If both parties are devout atheists (is there such a thing?) then getting married in a church is probably not right. However there are lots of places you can get married, so it shouldn't really matter.

Just to say; despite being agnostic, I happily go to church when my wife wants to, as I enjoy the service (the minister is very entertaining), and I know how much it means to her.

 

[latercomer2]

We got married in a church despite not being very religious. We were going to have it in a hotel, OH wanted a minister to do it rather than just a registrar and we then ended up getting married in the ministers church just down the road from the hotel. That said she was a very modern minister and we were honest with her about living together and not attending church regularly etc.

 

[VeNT]

being in Cornwall it's gonna be a beach or a church, as others have said, not because I take religion seriously but more because it's a nice setting.
also I recently found out that you can't get married just anywhere! has to be registered etc to do the service! freaky!

 

[Metalface Mark]

I got married in a catholic church despite not being religious or a catholic. My wife isnt religious either but she wanted married in the church for the sake of her family.

We had to go visit the priest before the ceremony and promise to raise any children we had as catholics, i kept my fingers crossed behind my back when i did it, and my children are hethens as a result, unchristened hethens

 

[Vonhelmet]

I got married in a church, because I'm a Christian.

I would say it is mildly hypocritical for non-Christians to get married in churches, though that's not to say that marriage is a wholly Christian institution, because it's not.

 

[lokkers]

This isn’t a thread for religion bashing or belief preaching, just for opinions on the following:

I really like churches. I think they are beautiful, traditional buildings that have been a place of many joyous occasions. As such, I couldn’t imagine a better place to become married. However, I am not a Christian. This, to some extent, makes me feel that it would be disrespectful for me to get married in a church.

I was asked “but surely if you don’t believe in God, then it doesn’t matter anyway?”. However, I cannot agree. I think it would, arguably, be mocking Christian beliefs by taking advantage of what is essentially a religious building for my own benefits.

I’m not getting married any time soon (thankfully ), but I thought it was an interesting point of discussion. Is it right to get married in a church if you are not religious? What do you plan to do, or what have you done?

I feel exactly the same way and got married in a church. At the end of the day I did it for reasons of tradition (and my wife is a bit religious), and I don't regret it one bit.

 

[brummie]

Marriage was orginally all about the legal parts, it was later that religion got involved, so in truth the religion part was tacked on because that was the society we used to live in.

Legal rights are rights over property, inheritance and possibly the most important, Next of Kin and all of the rights/responsibilities that comes with that.

What?? When did civil marriages start then?

I can leave a will, why get married?

 

[steveinspain]

I have only just seen this thread, and want to reply to the OP. I have not read anything other than the first post yet !
I am not religous, but my wife is (catholic).
I never saw any point in getting married - to me, saying 'I love you' is enough of a statement.
However............
We did get married in a church - it mattered a lot to Kate, her uncle is a priest, and her Mum has strong beliefs.
It was a fantastic day, and I cannot stress enough just how much it 'made' the day. I still find it hard to go into a church (it is not 'my place' -to others, it is a special place, so I ought to respect that, and so tend to stay away). There was an air of solemnity, that we were doing something really serious, and it was 'till death', though those words were left out for us
If I were to do it all again, I would say it has to be in a church, as it meant so much to so many of Kates family, and also to me. Her uncle, who married us, toned down to religion bit for my sake, but it was still a 'holy' event.
We are still very happily married, for what that is worth......................

 

[mattpc]

I wouldnt really want to but I suppose I would if the other half really wanted to.

 

[semi-pro waster]

What?? When did civil marriages start then?

I can leave a will, why get married?

Civil marriages in their present form have been going for decades, the idea of a civil marriage has been going for centuries (probably thousands of years in fact). Think of common law marriages if nothing else e.g. married by habit and repute - no religious ceremony (not even a ceremony at all) yet you can have all the legal rights if it is believed you were/are a married couple.

Marriage just opens up a whole new selection of legal rights, you can do the same with a civil partnership if you wish. A will is not an adequate substitute really as it isn't designed to do the same thing.

 

[K.C. Leblanc]

I was engaged and I was meant to be getting married in a church. I felt absolutely rotten about it. It just felt completely hypocritical to me. Especially since we'd only chosen the church was because it was the only big enough venue we could afford.

That said the whole wedding thing bugged me, I liked the idea of it. But in practice it seemed to be an exercise in making sure everyone involved has a monumentally stressful day.

My idea of the perfect wedding is one where no one gives a flying [expletive denoting intercourse] about what colour the table centres are.