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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...tal Conflict", Family Relations , Vol. 55, No. 4 (Oct., 2006) , pp. 439-449, Published by: National Council on Family Relations
McCarthy, Kate, "Pluralist Family Values: Domestic Strategies for Living with Religious Difference", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , Vol. 612, Religious Pluralism and Civil Society (Jul., 2007) , pp. 188-208. Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Waite, Linda J.; Gallagher, Maggie. The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially. New York: Doubleday; 2000.
Yinger, J. Milton, "A Research Note on Interfaith Marriage Statistics", Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , Vol. 7, No. 1 (Spring, 1968) , pp. 97-103. Published by: Wiley on behalf of Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
America is full and rich with diverse people, religions and values; they make America great. Just look at Riverside, California, there are over fifty churches of different denominations of Christianity, three synagogues, two temples, and one mosque; all coinciding peacefully in the city (Yellow Pages). Because Riverside is so diverse, religious pluralism and religious tolerance are two steps in making Riverside more connected. The first step is tolerance, a reflex that acknowledges a person will come across people of a different faith. The second step is pluralism, which is a better understanding of a person’s religion as well as the other religions around them. Many believe pluralism is the better of the two, because of the interaction involved and the creation of harmony, but pluralism’s faults are greater than the benefits. Currently religious pluralism is quality America should strive for, but America is not ready for pluralism yet, so religious tolerance is best for the diverse population of America today.
finally the opportune moment for individuals to build a stable family that previous decades of depression, war, and domestic conflicts had restricted. We see that this decade began with a considerable drop in divorce rates and rise in marriage rates, which is often assumed as the result of changed attitudes and values. However, this situation cannot be only just attributed to women’s
Just as there is a variety of identities involving race, gender, and class, so too are there a range of religious identities. Byzantine Catholics, Hindus, born-again Evangelicals, atheists, agnostics, and Buddhists are only a few religious identities I have encountered in America. This environment, at best, allows religious variety to be understood and embraced—and at worst, divides us. In Acts of Faith, author Eboo Patel discusses his belief that the “faith line” will define conflict and concord in the 21st century.
Eck, Diana L. A New Religious America: How a "Christian Country" Has Now Become the World's Most Religiously Diverse Nation. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Print
In the fifties, it was assumed of American families to be active Church goers in their respective religions; however, the idea of consensus didn’t quiet live up to its expectations. Families could all be the same through being religious, but still remain separate by believing in different religions. While the idea of consensus was certainly playing a role in that all people were religious, the safe conflict of being different still remained. Goodwin discusses in her book that everyone in her neighborhood was religious, and that her neighbors were active in attending Church services as was her family as well being Catholic. In general, religion laid out how people should behave in a black and white fashion in order to achieve salvation; however, the rules didn’t always match up with what a person wanted to do. For exa...
The main idea of Eck's article is to put the ever growing religious diversity of the United States into question. Eck goes into the definition of plurality and questions whether the United States can ever truly achieve it. She highlights that during the last couple of years, there has been an increase in the amount of religions and cultures in the country, but questions whether we are truly at the point of plurality or if there is still progress to be made.
Because of the diversity and impact that religion has on the lives of Americans, the individual belief should be treated as equal, not t...
Thomas, Oliver "Buzz". "How To Keep The 'United' In United States: Coping With Religious Diversity In The World's First 'New' Nation." Church & State Feb. 2007: 19+. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.
Marriage, as an institution, has evolved in the last few decades. As society progresses, the ideas and attitudes about marriage have shifted. Today, individuals are able to choose their partners and are more likely marry for love than convenience. While individuals are guaranteed the right to marry and the freedom to choose their own partners, it has not always been this way. Starting from colonial times up until the late 1960’s, the law in several states prohibited interracial marriages and unions. Fortunately, in 1967, a landmark case deemed such laws as unconstitutional. Currently, as society progresses, racism and social prejudice have decreased and interracial marriages have become, not only legal, but also widely accepted.
Judd, D. (2003). Taking Sides: Clashing views on controversial issues in religion, Is the Family
Jenson, Robert. “Religious Traditions Can Play a Healthy Role in Politics.” Politics and Religion 2013: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Although many people within my church throughout the years have continued to find their spouse in the church community they have grown up, the area we live in has allowed for people to see other options. I believe that it makes more sense for people in my church to marry within our community because we are not confined to only our church. Since our church sits right in the center of one of the most densely populated in California there are endless options available. In Grover’s Corner there are only around three thousand people but people choose to marry within their community, one example of this is George and Emily. They both grew up in houses right next door to each other and before they even graduated high school they had already decided to marry each other. “It’s July 7th, just after High School Commencement. That’s the time most of our young
Hanson, Richard R. "Optimizing Marital Success: The Conscious Couple Uniting Process." Humboldt Journal of Social Relations 32.1, TRANSLATIONAL APPLIED SOCIOLOGY (2009): 158-83. JSTOR.Web. 11 May 2014.
As we move toward a religiously diverse America, the call to separate religion and politics grows. As Americans head into the future there is a huge immersion of the different religions into one common society. It is becoming a challenge in trying to appease and maintain these different religions in the secular social world.
In the United States we can find religion all across the country and it’s as diverse as the people following them. I think that it is apparent that here in the US religion does simultaneously both divide people into distinct groups and unite them by giving us some common ground to be able to relate to with one another.