Couldn't have said it any better !! In this day and age, it's no longer needed. Back in ye olden times, an agrarian society thrived when large families were required to perform the back-breaking labor necessary to not only keep food on the table, but to trade for other goods and services (more often, ones which kept the circle of agriculture revolving more smoothly). With the church in obscene power, you couldn't just shack up; it had to be sanctified and have the appearance of piety. Thus, modern-style marriage came about, still an unholy union between government and the kirk.
