Atheists Sue Indiana Over Marriage Law
Posted by Phil Ferguson on October 24th, 2012 – 4 Comments – Posted in Uncategorized
Atheists Sue Indiana Over Marriage Law. The Center for Inquiry has filed suit against Indiana’s marriage law.
A nationwide atheist organization has sued the Indiana state government over its marriage statute, which they say forbids them from overseeing marriages.
It appears that the people at the christian post are interested in the story.
Paul Fidalgo, communications director for the Center for Inquiry, told The Christian Post that nonreligious people should be allowed to choose a nonreligious celebrant solemnizing their marriage.
Sounds very simple to me!
“We believe that just because a person is nonreligious, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have the opportunity to be married by the officiant of their choice,” said Fidalgo.
It appears that you cannot have a secular celebrant in the state of Indiana!
According to Indiana Code 31-11-6, titled “Authority to Solemnize Marriages,” those who can perform marriages include a “member of the clergy of a religious organization (even if the cleric does not perform religious functions for an individual congregation), such as a minister of the gospel, a priest, a bishop, an archbishop, or a rabbi.”
The code section also specifically lists certain government officials as well, and specifically names the Friends Church, German Baptists, the Baha’i faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and an imam of a mosque as groups and individuals who can solemnize marriages.
Well, isn’t that nice. How about a boat captain? So, why all of the fuss?
“Religious believers are not limited to a handful of government functionaries to solemnize their marriages — they are allowed to have a leader in their faith community perform the ceremony and solemnize their marriage,” said Fidalgo.
Bryan Corbin, Public Information Officer for the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, told The Christian Post that …”The state opposes an injunction, and the court has not ruled yet. Because of the ongoing litigation, there is little comment that our office can make about the case at this time,” said Corbin. “We note that the purpose of the statute is for the state to regulate marriage while accommodating religious groups…”
Accommodate religious groups? How about accommodating non religious groups.
“there is no constitutional right to solemnize marriages.”
Huh? Then why give one group preference. The law could just limit it to judges, sheriffs and of course boat captains!
The Center for Inquiry’s case is being handled by the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. With arguments heard, a decision from the district court is still pending.
Our Secular Celebrants can do a ceremony for a couple but they cannot make it legal by signing the marriage certificate which is referred to as solemmizing the marriage. Indiana is not the only state were the law precludes CFI Secular Celebrants from doing this. Our celebrants cannot solemnize a marriage in any state in the union just under this certification. Some states have ways that a person can become a legal official and can do so. One is Florida where a notary can do it and California where anyone can be deputized as a judge for a day and do it and Pennsylvania where the couple themselves can solemnize their own marriage. Of course, in almost all states anyone can go online and become an ordained minister and then can do it except in a few states where the law says they must have a congregation or something like that. Don’t know how they would ever enforce that law.
Don’t confuse CFI Secular Celebrants with Humanists Celebrants certified by The Humanist Association which is connected with AHA. These Humanist celebrants can solemnize marriages in every state in the union because The Humanist Society is chartered as a religious organization. CFI will not allow any of our Secular Celebrants to solemnize under any religious guise because we are trying to make a point that you shouldn’t have to pretend to be religious to solemnize a marriage. We do allow our celebrants to solemnize under a civil designation if it is possible in their state. Reba Boyd Wooden, Executive Director of CFI-Indiana and Director of the CFI Secular Celebrant program. If we win this case, it will be a really landmark case for nonreligious organizations and people. It will set an important precedent. Wish us luck. It is in the hands of Federal Judge Sarah Evans Barker at this point. We have done wll we can do at the moment.
Reba,
Thanks for that important information. Please let me know when you get an update. I would be happy to write it up.
Phil
Will do. Here is a quote from The Humanist Society website:
It was therefore with the goal in mind that this small band of former Quakers incorporated, in December 1939, under the state laws of California the Humanist Society of Friends as a religious, educational, charitable nonprofit organization authorized to issue charters anywhere in the world and to train and ordain its own ministry, who upon ordination are then accorded the same rights and privileges granted by law to priests, ministers, and rabbis of traditional theistic religions.
See the word religious in the third line. That is why they can solemnize marriages and CFI Secular Celebrants cannot. I consider The Humanist Society as a very fine organization and I was certified by them from 2001-2008 and solemnized over 50 marriages in Indiana under that certification. I have nothing against The Humanist Society (though a commenter on another blog has accused CFI of ???? and one of them called CFI “fucking idiots” because we didn’t understand that The Humanist Society’s Humanist Celebrants can already solemnize marriages in Indiana which is correct. I understand that and I solemnized over 50 marriages under that certification. Not animosty intended by me or anyone at CFI. We just think that a purely secular organization should have that right also and not have to be chartered as a religious organization.
Many people don’t seem to under stand this. This was on The Raw Story and I can’t post an explanation there because I don’t have the right browser on my computer.
Thanks for an interesting article. I am a Civil Marriage Celebrant in Australia – I am thankful that I live here and not there as I would not be able to earn a living.
Many of my couples are practising christians and enjoy the fact that they have the ability to choose the type of ceremony they want. Not all couples can and have the desire to be married in a church.