I'd call inheritance rights a bit more than "a minor convenience"!
Right now if you're married and you die, your stuff automatically goes to your spouse. If you don't want this all you have to do is draw up a contract that spells out your preferred terms.
In a USA where the government didn't recognize the religious designation of marriage there would be a greater need for a written contract rather than today's implied contract. As I said, I would guess that most churches would have some standard contracts on hand that basically said, "I leave everything to my spouse." The couple would sign on the line that is dotted after the ceremony and legally it would be no different than it is today. This seems logical and reasonable to me.
In the case of married people who didn't have a WILL, I suppose it would be decided much like it is today for singles who live together but never get married. They would have the matter resolved in the court system.
Iowahawk makes a brief but effective argument I think. The state doesn't recognize, nor confer special benefits on people who have been baptized or confirmed. There's no special tax benefits taking communion. Marriage is really a religious designation and even though it is widespread and popular, the state shouldn't be involved.
You would abolish civil marriage, a la the State of Israel?
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