Reader Chelsea lives in Tennessee and she’s getting married this September. She and her fiancé are both atheists and plan to have a secular wedding ceremony, so they were a bit surprised when they went to go get their marriage license and saw this:

“Holy Bonds of Matrimony”?
Chelsea writes:
… It didn’t really make sense to me for a legal document to deem our marriage “holy.” I thought that the word “legal” might make more sense. Do you know if this is the norm in other states as well?…
I assume many people needing a marriage license are religious, but not everyone… and the state must know this.
She’s going to check with the county clerk’s office to see if there are any alternatives, but can anyone offer an explanation?