You are not wrong about your distinction between civil & religious weddings. However, same-sex marriage forces others to treat unions to which they are personally opposed as legitimate. For example, nothing stops an employer from extending his health benefits to his exployees' same-sex partner if he chooses, and the free market means that employers who do such things have an advantage in trying to attract employees who would be interested (and for the Christians, the right of an employer to spend his money as he pleases in such a manner is supported by the Gospels, so this should not be an issue) in this benefit. Meanwhile those who oppose it are free to withhold such recognition and also free to accept the consequences of losing employees who dislike such a policy. The point is, everyone is free to act according to his or her beliefs. Not so if same-sex marriage is legalized. Now everyone must accept same-sex marriage under threat of force, even if it violates their conscience or religion. By trying to get legal recognition for same-sex marriage, it supporters aer the ones trying to ram THEIR ideology down everyone's throat!