How can Atheists get married w/o a pastor/priest saying the wedding vows in order for the marriage to happen?

• If Atheists don't believe in GOD, then how can they go about getting married w/o a pastor or a priest to omit the wedding vows? (You need a pastor or priest for a marriage to happen.)

• Answer:

  All you really need for marriage is two consenting people, a witness, and an official from City Hall or a County Courthouse (like a Justice of Peace). A marriage only needs to be approved and recognized by a governmental authority (in the form of a marriage license that the couple both signs) to be legitimate. The reason for this is because marriage is in essence a contract - i.e. something that legally redefines the people that undergo it: they fall into a new tax category, there are monetary and legal implications, etc. All of that needs to be documented by the government for a variety of civic purposes. A church wedding alone does not make you husband and wife, despite having been witnessed by God. It is that little slip of paper with signatures on it that makes it official and legitimate. The church aspect is optional - it is a great romantic tradition, but not required. As an example, here is what New York State says: There is no particular form or ceremony required except that the parties must state in the presence of an authorized member of the clergy or public official and at least one other witness that they take each other as husband and wife. There is no minimum age for a witness. However, in selecting a witness, choose at least one person who you feel would be competent to testify in a court proceeding as to what he or she witnessed. To be valid, a marriage ceremony must be performed by any of the individuals specified in Section 11 of the New York State Domestic Relations Law. These include: - the mayor of a city or village; - the former mayor, the city clerk or one of the deputy city clerks of a city of more than one million inhabitants; - a marriage officer appointed by the town or village board or the city common council; - a justice or judge of the following courts: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern or Western Districts of New York, the New York State Court of Appeals, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, the New York State Supreme Court, the Court of Claims, the Family Court, a Surrogates Court, the Civil and Criminal Courts of New York City (including Housing judges of the Civil Court) and other courts of record; - a village, town or county justice; - a member of the clergy or minister who has been officially ordained and granted authority to perform marriage ceremonies from a governing church body in accordance with the rules and regulations of the church body; - a member of the clergy or minister who is not authorized by a governing church body but who has been chosen by a spiritual group to preside over their spiritual affairs; - other officiants as specified by Section 11 of the Domestic Relations Law. The person performing the ceremony must be registered with the City of New York in order to perform a ceremony within the New York City limits. The officiant does not have to be a resident of New York State. Ship captains are not authorized to perform marriage ceremonies in New York State.