[Sir Francis Dashwood]

Marriage is a religious rite, not a civil right.

"Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices. Suppose one believed that human sacrifices were a necessary part of religious worship, would it be seriously contended that the civil government under which he lived could not interfere to prevent a sacrifice? Or if a wife religiously believed it was her duty to burn herself upon the funeral pile of her dead husband, would it be beyond the power of the civil government to prevent her carrying her belief into practice?"

"Can a man excuse his practices to the contrary because of his religious belief? [98 U.S. 145, 167] To permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and in effect to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself. Government could exist only in name under such circumstances."

[ipwnedu50]

I am very familiar with Reynolds, and I agree with the portion that you cite, however, the portion that you cite is not applicable to the current situation.

Williams and Baker (and quite a few other cases) are the Controlling precedent.

Baker is the definitive precedent on the issue, which is why homo-activists have tried so hard to hide it.

[OMalley]

If youre a Catholic its a sacrament:-)