Utterly false. Most states recognize "common law" marriages in which the couple represent themselves as married by sharing their lives and mingling assets.
And the state doesn't give "permission." Anyone who is otherwise qualified - by qualifications universally recognized by society, not government - can get married. There is no test and no denial of the license, no renewal of the license and no periodic competence testing. The couple is all on their own, to conduct the marriage any way they see fit, to make it as good or as bad as they want, unhindered by government, church, other family members or anyone else, as long as the resultant children or the other spouse aren't objectively harmed, and there are other laws which apply to that, regardless of the existence of a marriage.
The "license" is actually a one-time recording fee. Don't you want the incidence of your marriage officially, safely recorded somewhere in case of greedy relatives contesting a will or other assets? Isn't it worth a nominal $50-$100 one-time fee to ensure that no one can contest the existence of the relationship?
The definition the state uses to recognize the institution in the modern era is simply whatever judges, pols, or 51% of the voting public think marriage can be at any one time. That’s it, that’s all it will ever be to the state. The state looks at it in a way to manipulate the culture—it can be manipulation in a good way, or a bad way. To the extent it sticks to Natural Law, the more benefit. To extent it departs from Natural Law, the more harm.
If judges, pols, or 51% of the voting public decide to punish a certain faith with the powers of the state for not accepting whatever impossibility the state is calling marriage at the time, there is nothing stopping them but judges, pols, or 51% of the voting public.
But if the state is involved, how do you avoid eventually conditioning people to think the state defines marriage? Seems to me that’s really the big reason so many accept impossibilities like ‘gay marriage’: it can exist because the state decides it can. You even see many faiths only do ‘gay marriage’ ceremonies if the state gives its permission, even though that particular faith might already think ‘gay marriage’ is possible, but won’t act before the state decides it is officially.
Freegards