Marriage and Unions

Based on what I understand of this country, there is supposed to be a separation of church and state. So here is my proposal to end the discussion on who should be allowed to be married: churches shall have jurisdiction over who they "marry", and the country will "unite" people. I think that a church should be allowed to decide, based on their doctrine, who they will marry. A "marriage", however, should be a spiritual connection, and not have any governmental rewards/penalties associated with it. The government need not recognize a "marriage". A "union" should be a uniting of two people (any two people, straight, gay, whomever) for the purpose of sharing financial responsibilities and to receive governmental, retirement, etc. rewards/penalties. So, two people could be just "married", just "united", or both. No religious group has to recognize a "union". So, in reality, is that a huge change? No, it just gives some people a little more reassurance that their loved ones will be taken care of. That's just my proposal.