Religion vs Gay Marriage

Religion vs Gay Marriage
(I never really finished this post, I found it in my drafts and figured I'd put it up)

I am not sure how one relates to the other.

Marriage in a church, performed by a member of clergy: Religion

Marriage performed in a courtroom by a judge: Civil

As far as I know, the church has the option to allow, or not, weddings to be performed by their clergy and on their sites at their own discretion.

I know the church my daughter goes to does not even perform ceremonies for non-pledging members in good standing. I would think that would be pretty standard at most churches.

If the specific church was not supportive of gay marriage, they likely would not have pledging members in good standing that were gay.

Separation of Church and State: The government shall pass no law that honors any religious institution.

Why are there laws passed to preserve the sanctity of marriage if not for religious purposes?

In some research I learned that marriage was originally the equivalent to selling off your child in order to provide for the rest of your family.

Marriage did not originate from love.

Marriage licensing by the state was intended to regulate and limit incest.

Marriage according to the Bible is between a man and a woman and divorce is frowned upon. Second marriages following a divorce seemed to be non-existent. Although adultery is a violation of the 10 commandments, it seems to run rampant in the Bible.

Old Testament rules seemed to have been disregarded in the New Testament.

Old Testament = Hebrew   /   New Testament = Christian