Really, that's the only reason the state regulates marriages: it's all about legal status. It's a way to tell who shares assets, who has the right to make medic

Really, that's the only reason the state regulates marriages: it's all about legal status. It's a way to tell who shares assets, who has the right to make medical decisions, who takes priority for inheritance, and so forth. That said, I hear things can get unpleasant for unmarried couples in the United States when something unpleasant happens and the partner is not allowed to inherit, visit their loved one in the hospital, and so forth. They're treated like any other acquaintance. Many European countries will grant the same rights as a married couple to a couple that has been together (but not married) for a long period of time and shares property and financial assets. Might was well get a quick civil ceremony in those circumstances though: that would probably make life easier. Germany treats marriage entirely as a civil matter. The official marriage is performed in a municipal office by a municipal official. If the couple wants to, they can then have a religious ceremony, but the state doesn't regard a religious ceremony (at least not one performed within Germany) as a legal marriage. I think that nicely highlights the fact that the marriage as regarded by the state and marriage as regarded by religion are really two separate things that often happen to be co-mingled.