It's a supreme irony: The Kentucky county clerk citing her religious beliefs as the reason she is refusing to issue marriage licenses to anyone, whether same-sex couples or straight, is proving that marriage is not a religious institution. Applicants appearing in her office may have had a religious ceremony, or they may be planning to have one. It doesn't matter either way. They're not married, or they won't be married, because they do not have a marriage license. The clerk is unwittingly confirming that marriage is a civil institution.