INTERFAITH MARRIAGE

Interfaith Marriage in Liberal Society

Interfaith Marriage in Liberal Society

Introduction

Intermarriage, also known as interfaith marriage, interreligious marriage, or mixed marriage, is a civil or religious union of two persons who individually adhere to different religions, faiths, or belief systems. Possible tensions arise relating to issues of premarital sexual relations; the wedding ceremony; observing religious celebrations, rites, and rituals; and the spectrum of religiosity within the joint household that can include extended family members and children. As most marriages are performed with a blend of civil and religious ceremonies, there are various ways in which religion is negotiated post marriage, especially as the religious laws of one partner's faith may forbid such a marriage (Association of Interchurch Families, 2000). These options include the following: conversion to the religion of the spouse, two distinctly different religions practiced within the same household, a civil ceremony held in lieu of a religious one, or an amalgamation of various practices specified according to the couple.

Global religious pluralism has created new possibilities for intermarriage between diverse traditions, such as Hinduism and Judaism, or Christianity and Islam. However, against this trend, there is concurrent disaggregation of religious identities and systems, creating in turn global conflict and contention between faiths (Crohn, 2000, pp.196). From birth until death, the rites and passages observed within a human's life cycle all become points of potential contestation. Within certain traditional religious establishments, the view is held that intermarriage is detrimental to the values, identity, and overall continuity of the religion. Some religious leaders, however, welcome the expansion of their faith and view intermarriage as a natural expression of their beliefs and as an opportunity for spiritual growth.

Source of Conflict

The faith in which children are raised often becomes a source of conflict. For example, even though all three Abrahamic religions arguably recognize intermarriage within the bounds of their doctrine, each also has strict rules regarding children and which parent's religion the child will follow (Ellenson, 1994, pp.14). While different movements within Judaism have differing views regarding children and who can be considered Jewish, traditionally, Jewish status passes through the mother. A child is considered Jewish as long as the mother is Jewish. In Islam, all children must be raised as Muslims regardless of which spouse is Muslim.

A Jewish marriage is considered to be a contract between two Jews and as such, intermarriage as well as sexual intercourse with a member of a different faith is forbidden and technically illegal under Jewish law (Fitzgerald, 1991). Denominations within Christianity vary on this issue. Some churches forbid intermarriage, although interchurch marriage, or a marriage between Christians adhering to the principles of different Christian denominations, is allowed.

The Roman Catholic Church, however, deems all unions between Catholics and baptized non-Catholics as mixed marriages for which special permission is required. In both Orthodox Christianity and Judaism, marriage is limited to members of the respective religions as rabbis and ministers are not allowed to officiate a marriage between partners of different religions (Geffen, 1998, ...