Chelsea Clinton's Wedding Prompts Age-Old Debate Over Interfaith Marriages
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky: Interfaith Marriages and Grim Statistics
According to the American Religious Identification Survey of 2001, couples in mixed marriages are three times more likely to divorce or separate than those in same-religion marriages (as reported by Washington Post).
And statistics look particularly grim for Clinton and Mezvinsky. According to a professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, marriages between Jews and Christians stand a greater than 40 percent chance of getting divorced within five years.
Obvious roadblocks to successful interfaith marriages include potential opposition from the spouses' communities, conflicts over how to raise children, and whether or not spouses can respect each others' religious traditions.
The families can often present a challenge, particularly if they actively oppose the interfaith marriage. No marriage (whether interfaith or not) is perfect. And, without the support of their families, difficult times can be additionally challenging if the couple only has each other to lean on.
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky: Hope for Interfaith Marriages?
Yet, while one can't turn a blind eye to potential roadblocks, there are just as many arguments in favor of interfaith marriages. One writer at InterfaithFamily.com argues that overcoming such roadblocks can actually strengthen a marriage:
"A strong marriage between two committed partners can withstand a little soul searching. In fact, I believe one thing most strong marriages have in common is the passage through a period in which both partners have to face truths about themselves, each other, and their relationship for it to continue."
In a way, interfaith marriages can serve as a refiner's fire, in that it prompts them to delve deeper into their individual religious histories and search for answers about faith, religious identity, and fundamental beliefs. If they are able to approach these questions with mutual respect and understanding, then there's no reason the marriage can't combine the best of both worlds (or one world, depending on what decisions they make).
Sources:
Interfaith marriages are rising fast, but they're failing fast too, Washington Post
The Strength of Our Interfaith Marriage, InterfaithFamily.com
Published by Tina Molly Lang - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment and Lifestyle
Tina Molly Lang is a violinist, violin, piano, and voice teacher. She is also an active writer. Her work has been published in The American Thinker, Active Americans, Yahoo's OMG! and Yahoo News. View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentReligious name labeling of a person, is usually established by family tradition. The first church or synagogue attended is a starting point, not a destination. Life is a gamble and so is marriage.
I really enjoyed this article. It definately depends on how much you even care about religion.
Interfaith marriages can put extra strain on a marriage. A good Relationships is hard enough to maintain nowadays, without the added burden. However, if you truly love the person, you can make it work!
heh, bob rattner, my mom is an irish catholic and my dad is a jew. they've also been together for 35 years.
anyway, we live in a country where over half of all marriages fail. given that, i think the specific statistics--gay or straight! intermarriage or inmarriage! young or old!--are pretty worthless. marry who you love, don't worry about the haters.
I think that religion is just a way to say that your marriage is over and seek a divorce there is no reason a couple cannot believe in their own faith and make a marriage work if there is love. Good lord who gives a rip if one is Catholic and one Jewish or one Catholic and one Wiccan too much is set in the light of religion and not the true faith of love and god and goddess when a couple is bound together.
Well, I agree with you, that the statistics are grim. Your guest Bob is right in a way about "religion" because "religion" isn't the same as true faith in God. Anyone can claim having a religion, but if there is true faith in God on the part of both the Christian and the Jewish person, then they should each know, from their perspective halves of the Bible, that they are not supposed to be "unequally yoked," or intermingled in marriage, because your faith will wither away. What results is a watered down belief system that has no commitment to God.
I'm Jewish. I've spent the best 35 years of my life with my Irish Catholic wife (after divorcing my Jewish wife - a doomed marriage).
Any couple whose love is not strong enough to see past the nonsense that is religion shouldn't marry.