It's about as similar to social institutions as marriage is to divorce, which you tried to equate. Probably more similar, actually, since marriage and divorce are opposites while communication is a keystone of society that's intimately involved in most of its institutions.
At any rate, saying America's current implementation of marriage is a social institution going back through all of history and geography is just plain weird. Even in the modern age, marriage means very different things to different cultures, and that's ignoring all the "marriage" constructs that have existed in the past. Outlawing polygamy was a greater offense to the history of marriage than allowing gays to marry.
At any rate, saying America's current implementation of marriage is a social institution going back through all of history and geography is just plain weird. Even in the modern age, marriage means very different things to different cultures, and that's ignoring all the "marriage" constructs that have existed in the past. Outlawing polygamy was a greater offense to the history of marriage than allowing gays to marry.