Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal
Separating Civil Unions and Religious Marriage-A New Paradigm For Recognizing Same-Sex Relationships
Abstract
The note argues that civil marriage laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman violate the Establishment Clause by favoring one religious perspective over another. It proposes a solution to this constitutional issue by advocating for the separation of civil unions from religious marriage, drawing on New York's kashrut and get laws as a model. The analysis focuses on two key cases, Hernandez v. Robles and Lewis v. Harris, to highlight the legal and religious tensions surrounding same-sex marriage. The author suggests that replacing marriage with a civil union system would respect both legal and religious traditions while preventing government entanglement with religion.
Disciplines
Constitutional Law | Fourteenth Amendment | Law | Sexuality and the Law
Recommended Citation
Dov Berger,
Separating Civil Unions and Religious Marriage-A New Paradigm For Recognizing Same-Sex Relationships,
6
Cardozo Pub. L. Pol’y & Ethics J.
163
(2007).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cplpej/vol6/iss1/7