Throughout American history, marriage has evolved from the traditional Christian ideology of marriage to the acceptance of civil unions and civil unions. America was founded on the principles of Christianity and Puritan ideals. For example, our ancestors came to America to seek religious tolerance, in a land not yet claimed by the European world. The American government should have been established without religious virtues and values, giving the people the ability to dictate their own religious values; However, over the past 300 years, the idea of ​​marriage in the eyes of the average American has gradually changed from a social union to a religious and social connotation. Marriage was the social arrangement that provided organization and meaning to people's lives. Throughout much of America's history, religion has influenced most of its laws and policies. Even though religion and state are constitutionally separate, politicians still tend to use religious influence to make policies and laws. For example, abortion issues and death penalty debates have been influenced by religious institutions. According to religious connotations, marriage is defined as the socially legalized union between heterosexual couples, consisting of a man and a woman, who will procreate and raise a family in the future. Furthermore, stated the president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, “marriage is based on the fact that all human beings from conception have, in every cell of their body, both XX (female) and XY (male), also a sex- change surgery and hormone treatments cannot change those chromosomes (Jost 2003). Because religion is ingrained in American society, many Americans view marriage as a social norm; s...... half of the document ...... are entitled to their spouse's medical, financial and other benefits if the couple decides to share these benefits. Overall, although the word "marriage" has a religious connotation, we do not believe that rights should be denied to same-sex couples. By changing the word “marriage” on marriage licenses to “civil union,” everyone can gain the same rights legally and socially. We believe that no rights should be denied to homosexual couples who wish to have their relationship civilly recognised; By leveling the playing field and not viewing the two types of relationships as “separate, but equal,” no couple is denied their rights. By allowing individuals and institutions to recognize the word “marriage” and not the state, religion is removed from the California Constitution and placed back in the hands of California citizens...