Nancy Fagan
Age:53
Status:Married
Religion:Jewish
What are the challenges of an interfaith marriage?
Deciding how to raise children, definitely. My husband was supportive of raising them Jewish so for us it was easier than it is for other interfaith couples. Along with that, we had to figure out which traditions of each religion we wanted, like Christmas tree or stockings, to recognize or what we felt comfortable introducing into the household
How did you decide to raise your children?
Jewish. I felt more strongly about raising them that way. I couldn’t really see myself being comfortable raising children Catholic. Again, my husband was willing to support raising the children Jewish because took an educated not emotional approach. He had been in religious schools since grade school so he had a lot of knowledge about both religions.
How did your parents react or influence your decision?
Marriage: Very biased and prejudiced. Disrespectful. When I first told my father he was absolutely furious. We tried to talk to both of them again about it and they ended up kicking my husband out of their house. It was not an easy experience. I Throughout the whole wedding process they were very difficult as well. I remember as we were growing up my mom would call rabbis who married interfaith couples “Marrying Sams” meaning they didn’t care who they were marrying as long as they were making money. After we got married, I think they tried their best to accept it but it definitely was something they needed to get used to.
Raising Children: My parents never came out and said anything specifically about raising the kids Jewish. I think it was an unspoken necessity in their eyes. Judaism is as much a tradition as it is a religion so in that respect I kind of agreed with them. I believed it was a part of me. I think even if I said I would raise the children as orthodox Jews, they wouldn’t care because they didn’t want me to get married in the first place.
John Fagan
Age:51
Married
Catholic
What are the challenges of an interfaith marriage?
How you are going to raise the children and the cultural differences the family will face.
How did you decide to raise your children?
Jewish. I am comfortable in raising children in a different religion, as long raised correctly. The religion doesn’t really matter. I made sure they knew they could choose how they wanted to handle their faith however they wished.
How did your parents react or influence your decision?
Very Supportive. Very happy.
Did they care about having a Catholic Influence on the kids?
Didn’t care about having any catholic influence in the marriage. “I was raised to do what makes myself happy. If that’s what I wanted they were supportive of that”
Interfaith Relationship:
Spencer
19
When did your religious differences surface?
One of the first nights we met
How important is your difference in religions?
Not at all. I care more about the relationship than I about my religion.
How important is your own religion?
Somewhat important, I don’t really go to church anymore but I used to and I would say I still believe in the basic values
Would you ever consider converting for a significant other?
No, being Catholic is what was raised to be and believe. I wouldn’t feel right abandoning the religion grew up with.
What do your parents think?
I don’t think they’d care. They haven’t said anything yet. My Dad wanted to be a priest so he’s pretty strict in religion. It may just take a little getting used to.
Interfaith Relationship
Michelle
19
When did your religious differences surface?
One of the first nights when we met
How important is your difference in religions?
Not important. Judaism plays a relatively small role in my life and he supports the little role it does play.
How important is your own religion?
Somewhat important; I was raised with Jewish traditions since birth and my extended family is still highly immersed in the tradition. I don’t really go to Temple except for special occasions.
Would you ever consider converting for a significant other?
They should be understanding and accepting of my religion enough not to ask me to convert. Religion doesn’t play a big enough role in life to convert either.
What do your parents think?
Well, they are in an interfaith marriage themselves. I think they would fully support whatever makes me happy
No comments:
Post a Comment