I'm not religious (in the conventional way), but marriage has a deep meaning for me... Saying that you will stick by someone throughout whatever crap happens, and that you will love them unconditionally. Obviously, this doesn't always happen, but it's what to strive for.
I used to think that people should always wait before marriage (I was brainwashed)... But then I fell in love.
Anyway, I think people should have premarital sex if they want to.. I don't see anything wrong with it, as long as people are smart about it (which, of course, they won't be.) I think you should have sex with someone once both of you want to, you love each other, and you honestly think you have a good shot of making a relationship work. I don't think anything else is required.. Although I hate age limits, I really don't think anyone under the age of 17 can really make that strong of a commitment. Who knows though, everyone has a different maturity level.
I HATE abstinence-only sex ed. It's what I was taught in my high school, and that would explain why so many girls my age (19) and younger have gotten pregnant. Birth control isn't explained, it's just "Don't do it". There are many studies that prove the worthlessness of abstinence only sex ed, and how a comprehensive sex ed actually
raises the age of first sexual experience... It's so dumb that the (American) government just throws millions at abstinence only sex ed...
I also hate the religious argument. In the times of the bible, kids (I stress kids) were getting married at much, much younger ages than people are these days... So the 'no sex before marriage' thing wasn't so hard., as people were getting married in some cases when they were first sexually maturing.
Here's an interesting article for you...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16287113/Anywho, slightly on a tangent, but it's all good.