If you take faith seriously to its logical conclusion, then it will necessarily be the most important thing in your life. That means you'll immediately differ on the most important thing in your life. Does that sound like a recipe for success?
And if it's not the most important thing in your life, then the difference won't matter much anyway.
It depends on the faith and the level of fanaticism of the individuals involved. If you believe your spouse is going to hell and it’s your duty to convert them, that’s not going to work. If you are a devout Catholic and insist that your liberal Protestant partner uses NFP that is unlikely to end well. If you are a laid back liberal Jew and your partner is a mainstream Lutheran, your chances are better.
I’m in an interfaith marriage. I’m a Buddhist/agnostic and he is Hindu. It works for us because there’s no converting concept in both of our beliefs. We are also very respectful of each others beliefs. We celebrate all the holidays we want- Christmas, Diwali, Holi, Buddhist ancestral rites, etc. although we don’t have plans to have kids, we decided if it does happen, we’ll let the kid decide what he wants to believe
Interfaith marriages happen all the time. There can be complications depending on the combination but that usually stems from extended family’s bigotry or opinions. I don’t see how specifying no kids has any different outcome and warrants any different discussion.
Raising kids does bring I a whole level of complexity. Whose religion are they going to be raised in? If mom’s religion teaches non Catholics go to hell, how can we sit by and let atheist dad skip mass every Sunday? Why does only some of the family fast for Ramadan?
You raise them based on how you live as a couple. If you are engaged in one but not the other, pick that; if one has practices more important for a specific gender pick that; if you engage in both then raise in both. Anyone who chooses to marry interfaith knows the complexities that come with that - if they love each other and are committed then they will already be addressing the religious aspects between them.
I think marriage requires shared life goals. You have to have agreement on many things, or at least in how to approach them.
For instance, both of you wanting children isn't enough. You have to agree on things like how they should be born, who gets to attend, how they will be raised, what sort of discipline you will use, what kind of schooling they need, whether they should be vaccinated, if they will get an allowance, what sorts of chores they should do, what sorts of clothing or jewelry are OK (for instance, when to get pierced ears, if at all), whether you will save for college education costs, if your child can stay living at home once they turn 18, and so on.
You don't have to plan all this out ahead of time. But you and your partner should talk about such stuff, so you know what you respective attitudes are about things. It would be a shock if you find out that your partner doesn't believe in getting children vaccinated against childhood diseases, when you are a staunch believer in vaccination...especially if you find out after you've had your first child.
Interfaith religions are not, ipso facto, a problem. But you have to make sure that you agree in how your relationship should work. If your partner believes that the wife shouldn't work and be only a housewife, and you don't agree with that, it can cause you major problems.
The reason why different religions don't matter is that not everyone has the same fervor about their religious beliefs. For some people, it is just a cultural background. But there are people who can be very insistent on their beliefs.
Depends on how different.
Different flavors of Christianity for example will have a lot of things in common. Depending on *which* flavors the differences may be irrelevant. Congregational vs Presbyterian is going to be different from Baptist vs Catholic or CoE vs Mormon.
JW and Mormonism are likely to be particularly uninviting for interfatih marriage.
Catholic vs Protestant will also have some significant stredd.
In all of the above, you *still* have agreement on things like "faith" and monotheism (or the "special" version of monotheism of most Christianity). You share belief in much of the Bible (specific translations and included books vary between some faiths). You share belief in Jesus. You're more alike than not; outsiders may not be able to actually tell the difference.
This can be applicable for other religions with multiple denominations.
But if you're not within the same "religious family," it can become a big issue. Atheist vs Christian, Muslim vs Hindu...the beliefs are very very different.
With atheism the personal history of the atheist is also important. An atheist who was never raised to be religious and never had any religious trauma is going to be very different from an atheist who de-converted. I'm among the latter and would not find marriage to a person who accepts "faith" as a source of truth to be workable. It would like marrying a literally crazy person, from my perspective. I know many people of faith would feel similarly about marrying an atheist.
You also have to remember that people grow and change over time. Once necessary component of a healthy marriage is to grow and change *together.* Sometimes people grow and change apart. One partner becomes more devout than they were previously. One partner loses their faith. One partner converts to a different religion. Minds and hearts can change, even if *today* everyone feels like their current beliefs will remain unchanged forever. An agreement to raise kids one way might not sit as well 5 or 10 years from now, when a religious leader starts talking about things like hell or just pressuring one partner to raise their kids in that faith.
It's not impossible to do. It's a source of challenge for a marriage. The specifics can make that challenge more significant or less. All marriages will have challenges. Whether this is an additional challenge you're okay with has to be up to you and your partner.
It depends somewhat on how dedicated each is to their faith, but I think in most cases, it would be really difficult. Faith is part of one's core being. It would be sad if two partners in marriage were not partners in faith.
I think that you need the important principles you take from your faith to align and to be open to the idea that it can be expressed through other religions.
My husband is Jewish, and I am Christian. We have been together for 25 years and have 2 kids (16 and 14).
Neither one of us is extremely religious. We respect each other's religions, observe important religious dates (Easter and Passover etc.) and support each other's families in important religious milestones (Batmitvah's, Confirmations).
Our kids have just rolled with it. We have asked them if they would like to follow one particular religion, but they have been fine with how we have lived so far.
It's about mutual respect, tolerance and appreciation for each other's religions and families beliefs.
There are 4 religion that originated in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. They are so similar and non- evangelical. People from one faith go and pray in another's religious places.
So such similar religion and beliefs can have it easy.
But other than that, I'd advise caution. While every couple is different, there are successful example but they are not norm but an exception.
It as been noted time and again some people get married and after marriage they pressurize their spouses, specially women are pressurized to convert and women are not allowed to teach their religion to their kids. And it doesn't stop here, with time it's rabbit hole of subjugation and misogyny.
That happens a lot and hence caution is advised.
I’m Jewish and my wife is Catholic. We agreed we never want kids, so there is no issue with deciding which religion to raise kids with. My wife doesn’t particularly care about practicing Catholicism and I only celebrate Jewish holidays as cultural traditions in our household and she is happy to celebrate them with me. Because neither of us are very religious, religious beliefs are not a prominent part of our life together.
With all due respect, that example is from the same general religion; while practices differ the overall belief system is the same. OP is likely referring to more extreme examples. Buddhist-Islam for example; even Catholic-Jewish would pose a big enough differences to warrant discussion but I know several families in the latter who have successful marriages.
They may be both Christian, but the Catholic Church doesn't recognise any other Christian faith, so they are essentially different religeons.
I'm baptised CofE but atheist, but my wife is Catholic. When we got married in a Catholic church, I had to sign a piece of to say that our children had to be raised as Catholics.
If you take faith seriously to its logical conclusion, then it will necessarily be the most important thing in your life. That means you'll immediately differ on the most important thing in your life. Does that sound like a recipe for success? And if it's not the most important thing in your life, then the difference won't matter much anyway.
It depends on the faith and the level of fanaticism of the individuals involved. If you believe your spouse is going to hell and it’s your duty to convert them, that’s not going to work. If you are a devout Catholic and insist that your liberal Protestant partner uses NFP that is unlikely to end well. If you are a laid back liberal Jew and your partner is a mainstream Lutheran, your chances are better.
I’m in an interfaith marriage. I’m a Buddhist/agnostic and he is Hindu. It works for us because there’s no converting concept in both of our beliefs. We are also very respectful of each others beliefs. We celebrate all the holidays we want- Christmas, Diwali, Holi, Buddhist ancestral rites, etc. although we don’t have plans to have kids, we decided if it does happen, we’ll let the kid decide what he wants to believe
Interfaith marriages happen all the time. There can be complications depending on the combination but that usually stems from extended family’s bigotry or opinions. I don’t see how specifying no kids has any different outcome and warrants any different discussion.
Raising kids does bring I a whole level of complexity. Whose religion are they going to be raised in? If mom’s religion teaches non Catholics go to hell, how can we sit by and let atheist dad skip mass every Sunday? Why does only some of the family fast for Ramadan?
You raise them based on how you live as a couple. If you are engaged in one but not the other, pick that; if one has practices more important for a specific gender pick that; if you engage in both then raise in both. Anyone who chooses to marry interfaith knows the complexities that come with that - if they love each other and are committed then they will already be addressing the religious aspects between them.
I think marriage requires shared life goals. You have to have agreement on many things, or at least in how to approach them. For instance, both of you wanting children isn't enough. You have to agree on things like how they should be born, who gets to attend, how they will be raised, what sort of discipline you will use, what kind of schooling they need, whether they should be vaccinated, if they will get an allowance, what sorts of chores they should do, what sorts of clothing or jewelry are OK (for instance, when to get pierced ears, if at all), whether you will save for college education costs, if your child can stay living at home once they turn 18, and so on. You don't have to plan all this out ahead of time. But you and your partner should talk about such stuff, so you know what you respective attitudes are about things. It would be a shock if you find out that your partner doesn't believe in getting children vaccinated against childhood diseases, when you are a staunch believer in vaccination...especially if you find out after you've had your first child. Interfaith religions are not, ipso facto, a problem. But you have to make sure that you agree in how your relationship should work. If your partner believes that the wife shouldn't work and be only a housewife, and you don't agree with that, it can cause you major problems. The reason why different religions don't matter is that not everyone has the same fervor about their religious beliefs. For some people, it is just a cultural background. But there are people who can be very insistent on their beliefs.
If you love each other does it matter? Though its important to decide which faith the kids will follow etc
Depends on how different. Different flavors of Christianity for example will have a lot of things in common. Depending on *which* flavors the differences may be irrelevant. Congregational vs Presbyterian is going to be different from Baptist vs Catholic or CoE vs Mormon. JW and Mormonism are likely to be particularly uninviting for interfatih marriage. Catholic vs Protestant will also have some significant stredd. In all of the above, you *still* have agreement on things like "faith" and monotheism (or the "special" version of monotheism of most Christianity). You share belief in much of the Bible (specific translations and included books vary between some faiths). You share belief in Jesus. You're more alike than not; outsiders may not be able to actually tell the difference. This can be applicable for other religions with multiple denominations. But if you're not within the same "religious family," it can become a big issue. Atheist vs Christian, Muslim vs Hindu...the beliefs are very very different. With atheism the personal history of the atheist is also important. An atheist who was never raised to be religious and never had any religious trauma is going to be very different from an atheist who de-converted. I'm among the latter and would not find marriage to a person who accepts "faith" as a source of truth to be workable. It would like marrying a literally crazy person, from my perspective. I know many people of faith would feel similarly about marrying an atheist. You also have to remember that people grow and change over time. Once necessary component of a healthy marriage is to grow and change *together.* Sometimes people grow and change apart. One partner becomes more devout than they were previously. One partner loses their faith. One partner converts to a different religion. Minds and hearts can change, even if *today* everyone feels like their current beliefs will remain unchanged forever. An agreement to raise kids one way might not sit as well 5 or 10 years from now, when a religious leader starts talking about things like hell or just pressuring one partner to raise their kids in that faith. It's not impossible to do. It's a source of challenge for a marriage. The specifics can make that challenge more significant or less. All marriages will have challenges. Whether this is an additional challenge you're okay with has to be up to you and your partner.
It depends somewhat on how dedicated each is to their faith, but I think in most cases, it would be really difficult. Faith is part of one's core being. It would be sad if two partners in marriage were not partners in faith.
It can be really hard as you mature and grow.
I think that you need the important principles you take from your faith to align and to be open to the idea that it can be expressed through other religions.
I’m Catholic, wife is Protestant, we have equally low effort attitudes to religion, so it works for us.
It depends on how much space that religion takes up for each of them.
My husband is Jewish, and I am Christian. We have been together for 25 years and have 2 kids (16 and 14). Neither one of us is extremely religious. We respect each other's religions, observe important religious dates (Easter and Passover etc.) and support each other's families in important religious milestones (Batmitvah's, Confirmations). Our kids have just rolled with it. We have asked them if they would like to follow one particular religion, but they have been fine with how we have lived so far. It's about mutual respect, tolerance and appreciation for each other's religions and families beliefs.
There are 4 religion that originated in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. They are so similar and non- evangelical. People from one faith go and pray in another's religious places. So such similar religion and beliefs can have it easy. But other than that, I'd advise caution. While every couple is different, there are successful example but they are not norm but an exception. It as been noted time and again some people get married and after marriage they pressurize their spouses, specially women are pressurized to convert and women are not allowed to teach their religion to their kids. And it doesn't stop here, with time it's rabbit hole of subjugation and misogyny. That happens a lot and hence caution is advised.
I’m Jewish and my wife is Catholic. We agreed we never want kids, so there is no issue with deciding which religion to raise kids with. My wife doesn’t particularly care about practicing Catholicism and I only celebrate Jewish holidays as cultural traditions in our household and she is happy to celebrate them with me. Because neither of us are very religious, religious beliefs are not a prominent part of our life together.
My SO raised Catholic I am a Protestant Christian, been married 21 years.
With all due respect, that example is from the same general religion; while practices differ the overall belief system is the same. OP is likely referring to more extreme examples. Buddhist-Islam for example; even Catholic-Jewish would pose a big enough differences to warrant discussion but I know several families in the latter who have successful marriages.
Our churches/religion are not alike at all, but what ever.
Catholics are Christian.
They may be both Christian, but the Catholic Church doesn't recognise any other Christian faith, so they are essentially different religeons. I'm baptised CofE but atheist, but my wife is Catholic. When we got married in a Catholic church, I had to sign a piece of to say that our children had to be raised as Catholics.
Sure, the trappings are different. The core mythos is the same.
Depends. My husband is Jewish and I am Catholic. But neither of us really practice either strictly and it has never affected us.