In most states, God is witness to your marriage, whether you want him (her? it?) watching or not. Even when you aren't married in a church, your self-ordained officiant was very likely required to declare a church on his forms, and City Hall ceremonies usually take place in an onsite chapel. There's no keeping God out of it.

Except in Pennsylvania.

According to Atlas Obscura, thank the state's longstanding Quaker history. If a clergyman at Quaker meeting was unnecessary for religious services, he was certainly unnecessary for legal proceedings, like marriages. Thus, non-officiated marriages became legal for Quakers in Pennsylvania, and 300-plus years later, they became legal for non-Quakers as well. For such a progressive law epitomizing the separation of church and state, its roots are surprisingly religious.

Self-uniting marriages in Pennsylvania (Colorado also allows them) require a signed document and a witness—nothing more. It's a simple process, and one that would allow same-sex couples to marry in resistant states, and atheists to forgo religious ties. It's really easy, too. Everyone wins.

Sarah Rense Sarah Rense is the Associate Lifestyle Editor at Esquire, where she covers tech, food, drink, home, and more.

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