We must be careful here to clearly distinguish between "Pagan" wedding (for
example) ceremonies continuing in parallel to Christian ceremonies, and the
lack of formal Christian wedding ceremony due to cost or unavailability of
clergy. What you describe as the "unchurched" are not people partaking of
Pagan ceremonies, but Christians who do not formally take part in the Church
ceremonies. In the US, there is an expression of such an "unchurched" but
Christian wedding amongst slaves : jumping the broom.
The Orkney case is one of an alternative (Pagan) ceremony, not a case of
lack of formal Christian ceremony.
Paul Spice
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