Interfaith Marriage: A Personal Narrative
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As my third marriage anniversary date looms in the not so distant future, there are many times that I reflect upon my marriage, the strategically calculated steps taken prior to walking down the aisle and deciding whether the decisions I have made will sustain the life being built with my spouse. The principle decision that we chose as a couple, but is something I find myself reexamining more has been our decision to worship separately. As two people whose parents have been married 58 and 48 years respectively and worshiping under the same denomination, my husband and I appear to be breaking the rules of tradition that says the family that prays together says together. Or are we? Is adherence to two different religious denominations, existing under the same roof even possible?
Religious Diversity / Pluralism
The definition of religious diversity/pluralism seemingly is the most appropriate for the situation wherein there exists an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in an almost synonymous manner. Marriages between people of different faiths have occurred throughout history and in most recent years this trend seems to be on the rise. According to recent article in the New York Times, prior to 1960s there were approximately 20 percent of married couples in interfaith marriages; while moving the hands of time forward to the present day, the number of interfaith couples married is 45 percent. . Adding complexity to having a household with two religious denominations, my husband is a Baptist minister, with a master’s degree in Religious Studies, while I follow the practices of the African Methodist Episcopal church. Marrying later in life has contributed to the amicable situation i...
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