Dear Andrea Mitchell, Marriage is NOT a Sacrament

[HockeyMom]

It is the sacrament of MATRIMONY, which is only performed by certain Christian sects. Justices of the Peace do not perform sacraments. Buddhist Monks do not perform sacraments. Imams do not perform sacraments. Even among Christians only some sects consider Marriage/Matrimony to be a sacrament. Atheists getting married in court are receiving a holy, sacred, sacrament? I don't think so.

Why do so many people today in the 21st Century not understand this? I find this mindset of marriage as something RELIGIOUS very insulting. Keep your religion out of marriage, in particularly MY marriage.

[JDPriestly]

1. Andrea Mitchell cannot be taken seriously as a reporter or even a television

personality. She never should have been taken seriously.

[meow2u3]

2. I'll have to disagree with you in part

There are two kinds of marriage in the world: one civil, the other religious. They can and often do overlap in religious communities. Some countries even require separate civil and religious marriage ceremonies.

The religious matrimony, the Latin-root word for marriage, is a sacrament according to Catholic teaching, and is specific only to Catholics. Civil marriage is a legal contract, the secular, non-specific kind of marriage. I hope this helps clarify things.

[HockeyMom]

5. Unfortunately, people cannot separate the civil

from the religious. The civil contract is what is important in the USA. You can have your religious ceremony but if you do not go down to the court to register, you will not be married in the eyes of the law. The religious ceremony is totally optional.

[JoePhilly]

9. You need to see how Andrea Mitchell used the term to understand the OP.

Andrea DECLARED that marriage was a "sacrament".

She did not qualify that statement in anyway. She did not say "some believe" ... nothing.

She declared it as a fact, doing so while grilling an Obama spokesperson.

BTW ... in the US, a legal marriage is granted not by your church, but by the state.

Hope that helps clarifies things.

[Lint Head]

3. Legal marriages are "civil" not religious.

[JoePhilly]

4. I posted an OP about this too ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002654888

[Lionessa]

6. Or conversely, if it is then

it is an institution that should have no legal rights and we should all have to have written partnership agreements that allow for the legal equality of any two persons who choose to cohabitate.

[JaneQPublic]

7. Some Christians seem to think their religion invented marriage...

...which is a lot like Col. Sanders saying he invented chicken.

In fact, marriage has been around long before there was Christianity, and it has existed -- in some form -- in most cultures in the world.

Leave it to the Radical Right; they're going to try putting their trademark symbol on the institution of marriage just like they try to claim ownership of the American flag.

[PassingFair]

8. My mother was just talking about this.

She's a church-goer, and she says that people she talks to
ACTUALLY BELIEVE that churches will be "forced to marry same-sex couples".

That they don't actually KNOW that there are legal AND a religious components,
and that the two don't have to occur together.

So much trouble could be by-passed with these ignorant types of believers if we
just used the term "civil-union" instead of marriage.

I am constantly surprised by how many seemingly ANTI-same-sex marriage
people say that they don't oppose "civil unions".

On edit: Maybe call it "Civil Marriage"?

[Lugnut]

10. I thought I was the only one who was yelling at the TV.

Oy.

[Blue Owl]

11. In some cases, it's a sack of excretement (think Newt or Ru$h)

n/t

[11 Bravo]

17. Or a sham (think Bachmann)

[louannepoisson]

12. I wrote this in response to her comment yesterday. I was floored to hear her say it!

Marriage is a Sacrament. Really, Andrea?
May 7, 2012, Louanne Poisson

During a discussion of same-sex marriage with Steffanie Cutter today, Andrea Mitchell stated that 'marriage is a sacrament'. As I tried to get my head around the fact that a reporter was proselytizing on national television, I realized I had to look up the definition of marriage. Maybe I was wrong, but I didn't think the definition of marriage would have the word sacrament within it. Here are my findings.

marriage -Merriam-Webster

(1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage <same-sex marriage>

I'm confident that soon these 2 definitions will be combined into one clear statement: Marriage is the state of being united to a person in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law.

sacrament -Merriam-Webster

A Christian rite that is believed to have been ordained by Christ and that is held to be a means of divine grace or to be a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality.

If we can agree on the Merrium-Webster dictionary definition of marriage, I believe we can also agree that you may take part in a rite that is believed to have been ordained by Christ. That is your right. It is not your right to insist that everyone agree that marriage is a sacrament.

In order to agree marriage is a sacrament, I must be a Christian that believes in divine grace and a spiritual reality. In no way are those my beliefs. Luckily marriage is not a sacrament by definition. Marriage is a union, it is a party, it is a convenience, it is utopia, it is a prison-- it is many a thing indeed. It is whatever you would like to define it as over and above the fundamental definition.

Marriage can be a sacrament for you. That is the beauty of freedom of religion. For me, marriage is quite simply a way of life for those that choose it. That is the beauty of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[HockeyMom]

13. Having spent 12 horrible years in Catholic School

I think I learned enough about what a sacrament is. We also had to take Comparative Religion in HS. I learned through that not ALL religions believe in sacraments. The Catholic Church in Rome started the concept of Sacraments, none of the other religions have them.

CIVIL marriage is certainly not a a sacrament, but a LEGAL CONTRACT. The US government does not perform sacraments. This infurates me that every straight couples who marries must be receiving the SACRAMENT of "Marriage", according to far too many ignorant citizens in this country, apparently, including Andrea Mitchell. STUFF IT, Andrea, as a straight, non-religious, married woman of 38 years. You, or anybody else, cannot make my marriage into something religous, if we don't WANT it to be so.

This is just like saying the USA is "Christian Nation". No we are not, and not all married couples in this country are in the holy, sacred, sacrament of marriage. If people cannot understand this basic concept, no wonder they don't have to approve Civil Marriage for gay couples.

[Bill McBlueState]

15. yeah, many Protestant churches have sacraments

but only two: communion and baptism. The Catholics are unique or unusual among Christians in counting marriage as a sacrament. Maybe the Mormons or Orthodox do; I'm not sure.

[louannepoisson]

16. Really. What in hell was she thinking?

She seems to be an intelligent person. It was ignorant of her to say that marriage is a sacrament. That's why I was floored when she said it. I thought my TV had jumped over to EWTN for a minute. LOL

[obamanut2012]

14. Thank you -- marriage is a civil concern in this country