why do atheist get married?

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Pension entitlement could be one reason. I have friends who married solely for this reason, having been together for many years and having two children together.

Marriage is about property and inheritance. It's a legal contract.

Because to get married you don't need to have faith in god. What you need a much bigger leap of faith.

You need to have faith in marriage

This right here.

Marriage is not a Christians-only club. It's not a religious institution. It's a legal one, and it's been the main form of legal domestic union in most societies (regardless of their religion) for thousands of years. Christians in the US have just gotten the bizarre idea that marriage is somehow theirs, and that they for some reason deserve to dictate the rules for how marriage works for everyone else.

Funny, but true. You need to have faith (in your partner) that this thing will last, "till death do you part". Otherwise, why get married?

Speaking of faith, these discussions/arguments about religion/God, while humorous, seem like a waste of time. I don’t understand what it accomplishes. Other than unmask a whole bunch of hypocrisy (from a subset of the whole who purport to believe).

Edit: The hypocrisy I referenced above was not aimed at any person on WP. I am more so referring to people at large.

Last edited by Rocket123 on 29 May 2013, 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Maybe some of them live in areas that are hard-core conservative or come from conservative families & they don't to be treated negatively for shacking-up. Also they could like the idea of taking a serious commitment to their partner; that's the biggest reason why I'd like to be married.

^ what they said. For some reason, marriage is now synonymous with religion, which is a shame considering the amount of objection towards same - sex marriage in the name of God.

I am atheist, and I have no intention of marrying, but there are a few benefits in regards to finance and children. For example, Penn Jillette (also atheist) married his wife Emily so that he had equal custody of their children, and he was known as father and husband, which gives you more rights over the child (at least in America - I have no idea about the laws over here). I suppose it could also be a sign of devotion, taking the other person's name, having family and friends to celebrate, etc. Also shotgun weddings in Vegas look fun. Who wouldn't want to be married by an alien...?

Personally I have no interest in it. I agree with Derren Brown, I'll just find someone I hate and buy them a house.

Just because I am atheist doesn't mean that the person that I might one day marry is.

What does marriage have to do with god?

What kind of question is this?

Yes.

For the same reasons that deists and theists get married:

• Money: Married couples make more, save more, have a higher net worth and qualify for more benefits and financial incentives than single people. There is also the off chance of marrying into a wealthy family.
  
• Copulation & Procreation: To have sex and maybe children, as well.
  
• Productivity: Married people are more productive; married men in particular have higher employment rates, work longer hours and receive better wages than single men.
  
• Longevity: Married people not only live longer lives, but they live healthier lives - as opposed to those merely cohabitating.
  
• Social Pressure: People also tend to get married because 'everybody' is telling them that they should be married.
  
• Conformity: "Everybody else" is getting married, and they don't want to feel left out.
  
• Love: Pure sentimentality is still quite fashionable with many people. Spending the rest of your life with your best friend is something to look forward to.

There are probably more reasons, but belief in a Supreme Being doesn't have to be one of them.

Last edited by Fnord on 06 Jun 2013, 10:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

^ this pretty much sums it up. Though, I will mention that deists and theists are, in the most basic sense I can think of, religious people. Try to push down the big words in your explanations Fnord, people get distracted from the meaning when they are wondering what certain words mean.

ok me dumb down all better

... not ...

I say it as a courtesy to others. I also have to do it, otherwise people constantly give me "stupid face" whenever I talk.

that line of thinking is usually a very conservative view & a bull reason to deny gay couples the right to marry. I'm NOT saying that's the OPs veiw thou.

Concise. Laughed at some bits, social pressure and conformity explanitions especially. Agree for most part. Could add "Happiness: Sick of having fun and enjoying self, want to spend rest of life bickering and questioning if made right choice".



Laughed again.

Laughed again. Funny people here these days.