Inter-faith marriages

Books & a movie that
discuss inter-faith marriages

Sponsored link.

A movie:

Jennifer Kaplan is an independent filmmaker who recently released a documentary titled "Mixed Blessings: the challenges of raising children in a Jewish-Christian family." See: http://www.mixedblessingsfilm.com/ A trailer can be seen at: http://www.mixedblessingsfilm.com/

She writes:

"When we merge our lives with another whose beliefs differ from our own, conflicts can and often do occur. How does each individual within a relationship examine and articulate his or her own beliefs to his/her spouse? What happens when one partner changes his mind about a previous agreement? What if someone's faith wasn't important before raising children, but becomes important after the birth of a child? And what about the children?..."

The documentary is based on Kaplan's study of inter-faith relationships and families, and her interviews with interfaith families, clergy and experts. She found that "...the 'sticking point' for Jews and Christians focused more around the children and how they were to be raised." Mixed Blessings does not provide answers but rather raises questions that couples can ask each other and allows the viewer to gain some understanding of the complexities of mixed marriages. A companion discussion guide comes with each film. The hour long film comes with a bonus hour of extras. See: http://www.mixedbessingsfilm,com.

Books:

Amazon.com has a Web site that will facilitate your safe ordering of books on inter-faith marriages. By clicking on the links below, can read reviews of the book. The listings often show sample pages from the book.

A guide for parents in mixed marriages:

This book was written primarily to help Agnostic, Atheist, Humanist and other non-theistic parents raise children without formal religious indoctrination. As Terrence Walsh, an Amazon.com reviewer states:

"... it encourages you to raise kids who ask questions, consider evidence, and look for their own answers regarding the meaning of life and the existence of God. That way you can help ensure that they arrive at their personal conclusions about religion and spirituality honestly when they reach adulthood."

Another Amazon reviewer, Eliza from Maine comments:

"This book fills a definite void in parenting literature. It contains a collection of perspectives from people who are dealing with raising children in mixed or nonreligious households. It covers topics like dealing with mixed beliefs, death and consolation, values, holidays, community, and critical thinking. It is not prescriptive in that you won't find a set answer for any topic but rather a variety of viewpoints and shared experiences from those who are dealing with them now or have dealt with them as they were raising their own children. It provides the background and resources to adopt those strategies that you feel are right for you or adapt your own. It has been great for me in thinking about issues and developing ideas with my husband as we are planning to start our family."

Seventeen out of 19 reviewers gave this book a 5 star rating out of a maximum of 5! There was one 4 star rating. One reviewer, "Mr. Pineapples" states that "Moral and intellectual relativism is useless" and gives the book 1 star out of 5 -- the lowest rating..

Dale McGowan, Ed., "Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion," American Management Association (2007). Read reviews or order this book

Inter-faith marriage ceremonies:

"Mixed marriages" within the same religion:

The term "mixed marriages" generally refers to two spouses who follow different religions. However, the term can be used to refer to a marriage between spouses who follow different traditions within the same religion.

All of the larger world religious have long ago split into more than one denomination or tradition. In the case of Christianity, differences in beliefs and practices among its tens of thousands of faith groups are so great that some observers consider Christianity to be a grouping of religions which share the Bible, the name "Christian" but little else.

Some marriages, like those between a Catholic and an Evangelical Protestant, or an Eastern Orthodox and a liberal Protestant can be as difficult to resolve as those between spouses of different religions.

Some books deal with this topic:

Amazon.com recommends the following books in interfaith marriages:

Quite often, Amazon offers used books and surplus new books at a much reduced price through their Marketplace affiliates.

Copyright 1999 to 2007 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
Originally published: 1999-MAR-16
Updated: 2007-JUL-19
Author: B.A. Robinson