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The state, by our
consent, has made
itself higher than our
sworn covenants,
higher than the
church—higher than
the God who ordained
marriage. It was not
always so. It is now.
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mary purpose—sexual intercourse. It was understood
to be within the power of a man and
a woman to commence a life of union as they
pleased. The couple would publicly promise
themselves to each other—called a “verbum
sap” (Lat. no more need be said)—and then
assume the duties of husband and wife, and
that was marriage. When family structure and
economic conditions made it possible, there
were wedding feasts and celebrations surrounding a marriage, but the blessing of an
ecclesiastical or civil authority were unwarranted.
Marriage not the domain of the church
How did marriage come to be viewed as the domain of the church? In the sixteenth
century, as many Roman Catholics were discovering justification by faith and
leaving the fold to become Protestants, the Roman church launched a counter reformation.
In an attempt to delegitimize Protestant marriages, the Roman Church abolished
“clandestine” marriage at the Council of Trent (1545–1563), ruling that in the future,
a marriage would only be valid if it were performed by a Catholic priest in the presence
of two witnesses. Of course, this transferal of marital authority into the hands of
the clergy did not affect those outside the Roman church, where marriage by common
consent continued to be the norm.
Since it had become traditional for the Roman Catholic Church to recognize and
record marriages, in the Protestant community separation from the old hierarchy left a
vacuum that was soon filled by the Protestant states. By the 1600s, many of the Protestant
European countries initiated the state’s involvement in the institution of marriage.
England abolished clandestine or common-law marriages in the Marriage Act of
1753, requiring marriages to be performed by a priest of the Church of England. This
law did not apply to Jews or Quakers. It was an “inner church/state” act. All countries
in Europe have now abolished “marriage by habit and repute”, with Scotland being
the last to do so in 2006.
In the United States, new common-law marriages initiated in a state are still recognized
in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
Texas, Utah and the District of Columbia, and in Canada, several provinces
recognize them.
Licensed by the State
At the age of eighteen, when I was “ordained” by the Southern Baptist Church to
preach the gospel, they steered me into applying to the State of Tennessee for a license