If you are determined to intermarry...Who will conduct the service? Where will it be? How will you pick the food and music?Once you've done it...Whose food will you eat? Whose jokes will you laugh at? Whose neighborhood will you live in?As you increase and multiply...What do you think is ok to do in bed? Will you baptize or circumcise your children? What kind of school will they go to? What if they pick the other religion -- or none?At the end of the line...How will you mourn, and with whom? What will your spiritual resources be?And, above all...Where is God in your lives?Celebrating our Differences won't give you easy answers to these questions, but it will give you specific questions to discuss, practical pointers to use, and thirty years' experience of living two faiths in one marriage to draw on.
In the last decade, 45% of all marriages in the U.S. were between people of different faiths. The rapidly growing number of mixed-faith families has become a source of hope, encouraging openness and tolerance among religious communities that historically have been insular and suspicious of other faiths. Yet as Naomi Schaefer Riley demonstrates in 'Til Faith Do Us Part, what is good for society as a whole often proves difficult for individual families: interfaith couples, Riley shows, are less happy than others and certain combinations of religions are more likely to lead to divorce. Drawing on in-depth interviews with married and once-married couples, clergy, counselors, sociologists, and others, Riley shows that many people enter into interfaith marriages without much consideration of the fundamental spiritual, doctrinal, and practical issues that divide them. Couples tend to marry in their twenties and thirties, a time when religion diminishes in importance, only to return to faith as they grow older and raise children, suffer the loss of a parent, or experience other major life challenges. Riley suggests that a devotion to diversity as well as to a romantic ideal blinds many interfaith couples to potential future problems. Even when they recognize deeply held differences, couples believe that love conquers all. As a result, they fail to ask the necessary questions about how they will reconcile their divergent worldviews-about raising children, celebrating holidays, interacting with extended families, and more. An obsession with tolerance at all costs, Riley argues, has made discussing the problems of interfaith marriage taboo. 'Til Faith Do Us Part is a fascinating exploration of the promise and peril of interfaith marriage today. It will be required reading not only for interfaith couples or anyone considering interfaith marriage, but for all those interested in learning more about this significant, yet understudied phenomenon and the impact it is having on America.
Marriage is one of the most important decisions you will ever make in your life. This is a book aimed at helping the young person who is embarking upon the grand adventure of finding a life partner (although married couples will also find much of benefit in it). As with most things in life, there is a right way to go about this and a wrong way. But with the stakes so high, choosing the right person for the right reasons and establishing a solid and successful foundation for the relationship are crucial.Couples are encouraged to read this book together. It will take them through the process of preparing oneself for marriage, finding a life partner, working out whether he or she is the right one, enjoying an effective engagement period, and developing a sound and profound understanding of what marriage is all about, as a firm foundation for the lifelong adventure of marriage. Along the way, a number of issues are discussed, including: how to know that a decision is a good one; the beautiful meaning and symbolism of the ancient Orthodox rites of Betrothal and Marriage; difficult issues such as gender roles, abuse, intimacy, sexuality, contraception, and abortion; how couples can learn to understand one another and meet one another¿s needs; and the perilous danger and life-transforming beauty that is the mystery of marriage in the Orthodox Christian Faith. The approach taken is firmly based on both ancient Orthodox Christian principles and modern psychological principles, and is holistic and contemporary, seamlessly weaving together ancient wisdom and modern psychology into a single approach.
Dating, commitment, kids, and family--it's all hard work, and when you come from different religious backgrounds it's even harder. Jon, a Catholic writer, and Michal, a Reconstructionist rabbi, live out the challenges of an interfaith relationship everyday as husband and wife, and as parents to their daughter Sima, who is being raised Jewish. In MIXED-UP LOVE, the couple explores how interfaith relationships impact dating, weddings, holidays, raising children, and family functions--and how to not just cope, but thrive. This is an engaging and practical resource for singles who are considering dating outside their own faith, couples in interfaith relationships, relatives and friends of "mixed" couples who seek information and understanding, and parents desiring a fresh perspective. With clarity, insight, and humor, Sweeney and Woll demonstrate how to engage with your partner, family, and faith like never before.
In the twenty-first century, Jews and Christians are challenged to reconsider their theological assumptions by two inescapable truths: the moral tragedy of the holocaust demands that Christian thinkers acknowledge the violent effects of theologically delegitimizing Jews and Judaism, and the pervasive reality of cultural and religious pluralism calls both Christian and Jewish theologians to rethink the covenant in the presence of the Other. Two Faiths, One Covenant? Jewish and Christian Identity in the Presence of the Other is a breakthrough work that embraces this contemporary challenge and charts a path toward fruitful interfaith dialogue. The Christian and Jewish theologians in this book explore the ways that both religions have understood the covenant and reflect on how it can serve as a reservoir for a positive theological relationship between Christianity and Judaism-not merely one of non-belligerent tolerance, but of respect and theological pluralism, however limited.
Interfaith marriage is a visible and often controversial part of American life--and one with a significant history. This is the first historical study of religious diversity in the home. Anne Rose draws a vivid picture of interfaith marriages over the century before World War I, their problems and their social consequences. She shows how mixed-faith families became agents of change in a culture moving toward pluralism. Following them over several generations, Rose tracks the experiences of twenty-six interfaith families who recorded their thoughts and feelings in letters, journals, and memoirs. She examines the decisions husbands and wives made about religious commitment, their relationships with the extended families on both sides, and their convictions. These couples--who came from strong Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish backgrounds--did not turn away from religion but made personalized adjustments in religious observance. Increasingly, the author notes, women took charge of religion in the home. Rose's family-centered look at private religious decisions and practice gives new insight on American society in a period when it was becoming more open, more diverse, and less community-bound.
A book on the growing number of interfaith families raising children in two religions Susan Katz Miller grew up with a Jewish father and Christian mother, and was raised Jewish. Now in an interfaith marriage herself, she is one of the growing number of Americans who are boldly electing to raise children with both faiths, rather than in one religion or the other (or without religion). In Being Both, Miller draws on original surveys and interviews with parents, students, teachers, and clergy, as well as on her own journey, to chronicle this controversial grassroots movement. Almost a third of all married Americans have a spouse from another religion, and there are now more children in Christian-Jewish interfaith families than in families with two Jewish parents. Across the country, many of these families are challenging the traditional idea that they must choose one religion. In some cities, more interfaith couples are raising children with “both” than Jewish-only. What does this mean for these families, for these children, and for religious institutions? Miller argues that there are distinct benefits for families who reject the false choice of “either/or” and instead embrace the synergy of being both. Reporting on hundreds of parents and children who celebrate two religions, she documents why couples make this choice, and how children appreciate dual-faith education. But often families who choose both have trouble finding supportive clergy and community. To that end, Miller includes advice and resources for interfaith families planning baby-welcoming and coming-of-age ceremonies, and seeking to find or form interfaith education programs. She also addresses the difficulties that interfaith families can encounter, wrestling with spiritual questions (“Will our children believe in God?”) and challenges (“How do we talk about Jesus?”). And finally, looking beyond Judaism and Christianity, Being Both provides the first glimpse of the next interfaith wave: intermarried Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist couples raising children in two religions. Being Both is at once a rousing declaration of the benefits of celebrating two religions, and a blueprint for interfaith families who are seeking guidance and community support.
