Dr. Seitz, one of the pledge\u2019s authors, said that as an academic he does not \u201cdo the kind of weddings on a regular basis as someone whose full-time job\u201d\u009d is in the clergy. And many of those who have signed his pledge appear to be laypeople, or women in traditions in which women do not perform weddings. Like them, he is mostly an observer, and one of his observations is that we are in \u201ca funny time.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
If marriage moves toward becoming just \u201ca contract between two people, the state can take care of that,\u201d\u009d Dr. Seitz said. \u201cAnd it makes a lot of sense \u201d\u201d property, custody of children.\u201d\u009d But he believes that marriage needs more, and that the state may be weakening, rather than enhancing, the customs and mores that uphold the institution.<\/p>\n
Dr. Radner, the pledge\u2019s other author, is on sabbatical in France, which has long separated religious marriage from civil marriage. Seeing the separation up close has only made him more of a fan.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust living here made me realize that the church can function rather well,\u201d\u009d he said, \u201cand also avoid some of the conflict that we seem to get all embroiled in in the U.S. over sexuality matters, by being somewhat disentangled, practically, from the civil marriage system.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n