Would you marry someone that is another religions ?

[triesa]

If people  use "religion" as a mean to separate whether one should marry another not of the same belief, then very soon, we can all use "religion" to say, you cant sit here, you cant eat here with me, you cant study here, you cant work here.....etc etc

Marriage is about committing to love and care for an individual and not to convert his/her belief. Religion has long been abused to separate people and nations, very contrary to what it is meant to be....to bring people together in peace and harmony.

Like what hoperainbow has mentioned, it would be great if inter-religious marriage is successful as it sets the trend that religions are not meant to separate people, rather it can bring and unite people together. How beautiful!

So my choice....yes I would marry someone of another religion.

[jeremyg]

If marriage between religions is going to bring more conflict for our partners, ourselves, our families, our friends. Then there can be issues with marrying a person of another religion. All we are accomplish by doing this is more negative karma derived from our selfish mind to have this one partner, yet we cause so much suffering for others.

Obviously the world is now set up in a way where in some cultures it is okay to marry a person of another religion. In others it is completely forbidden. My point here is that as long as conflict is not going to be an issue, there won't be any arguments derived from it, the why not? After all religion is just a label of spiritual practice, it is a way of upholding sacred teachings, but in effect all religions teach us to be better human beings, so why can't relationships work between two human beings who just want to be better, for themselves and for others?

[Jessie Fong]

I do not see any set back in marrying someone of a different faith.  All religions teach us the positive values of life. 

In fact I support inter-religious marriages - it teaches you to be tolerant of your spouse's religious faith, you see how in the end it does not matter whether you married someone who is a Buddhist, Jew, Christian or any other faith.

You choose to marry your partner not because he is of the same religion, but because both of you have so much in common : well, if you say that he is of a different religion, so what?  At least of both you will be guided on the correct path.

[vajraD]

Yes, I would. There is a lot of people  that I know who are married even they are of different faith and  some until end of life. All religion teaches us positive values to have tolerance, loving kindness and benevolence.

Having same faith marriage does not mean that everything will go smooth and sailing. Look at the world now. The percentage of separation is increasing. I don’t think this is due to their religion. If is religion that causes that, then one should re access the teaching that was thought. Many times a separation happens is because we have expectation of our partner of how we want them to be. When we don’t get what we want or the result then the problem arises.

So to me even a DS and none DS practitioner can get married if they understand the true value of the teachings. If one can’t accept their partner as they are better not to get married because at the end of the day the person will not be who you want them to be and that is the fact.

[ratanasutra]

Yes, if both are respect and accept in each other religions then it can be work out.

All religious teach and lead us to become a better but if we use in the wrong way therefore we become narrow mind and not accept other.

I have a friend who father is christian and mother is buddhist but my friend always cheerful and happy as her parents will share and bring her to temple and church always and they let her make a decision when she grow up.. wonderful patents..

[Rihanna]

I would not marry someone of a different religion. I may not have an issue with it but it may not be vice versa. Then there is always the issue with family pressure. One can argue that religion is just a label. That it is being spiritual that counts. That love should conquer all. That if you love the other person, then you should respect his/her religion. And the list and arguments goes on and on. Idealistic i call it! Yes there may be isolated cases where spouses are of different religion and they have mutual respect for each other and lived till death did them part! My question: how often does that occur?

Think! If one's husband is a Shugdenpa, and the wife is not, do you not think that it would come in between this couple? And we are talking about the same religion; Buddhism, let alone different religion.

[sonamdhargey]

Yes why not? Before going into marriage I supposed both parties have an understanding of each other's religion before deciding to tie the knot. If both parties have an issues with each other's religion then why start a relationship in the first place?

I believe all religions are about peace and harmony and if both parties practiced what they preached, I don't think it will be an issue to get married, after all maintaining peace, kindness patience, tolerance and harmony are the key ingredients for a healthy marriage.

[sonamdhargey]

I would not marry someone of a different religion. I may not have an issue with it but it may not be vice versa. Then there is always the issue with family pressure. One can argue that religion is just a label. That it is being spiritual that counts. That love should conquer all. That if you love the other person, then you should respect his/her religion. And the list and arguments goes on and on. Idealistic i call it! Yes there may be isolated cases where spouses are of different religion and they have mutual respect for each other and lived till death did them part! My question: how often does that occur?

Think! If one's husband is a Shugdenpa, and the wife is not, do you not think that it would come in between this couple? And we are talking about the same religion; Buddhism, let alone different religion.

There won't be a marriage to begin with if either party cannot agree and tolerate each other's religious preference. Divorce is rising and the main cause is not religious indifference. In general there is lack of respect for each other and many other reasons not just religion that causes the fall out. How many people do you know fall out because of religious indifference? If more people practice what they preached about Buddhism, respect one another and accept one another, i think this religious issues won't be an issue and a lot of other things will not be an issues.

[AnneQ]

For me there are 2 answers: No, if you both have your own different religious convictions and do not agree with each other's religious practices. And yes, if either one is religiously liberal and won't impose his or her religious views on their spouse.

Yes we all like to believe that religion should bring people together instead of conflict, but the reality is, most religion is an institutionalised entity where the 'rules and regulations' are man made. Some religion impose conversion before marriage, and if that is not the case, the married couple must at least promise their offsprings be baptised into the religion. Then there are other religions that make it compulsory to attend religious counselling and classes as a criteria to their union as a married couple. And so on and on...

It all comes down to this - unless one party is willing to 'sacrifice' their religious stand and compromise their views, the marriage wouldn't even be possible in the first place.

So despite all the obstacles, the couple would still like to marry because of Love, one party must always give in for the marriage to happen.

[brian]

I think as long as both parties truly accepts each other's beliefs and do not impose on each other, an inter-faith marriage could work...  Even better if both make effort to understand the other's religion and try to find some common points.

Easier said than done of course, especially if both are staunch in their respective religion.  As a Buddhist, I imagine it may be quite hard to live with someone who firmly doesn't believe in future lives and karma, as their perception of and purpose / priorities in life may be different from one who does?  Its like one would have a longer term / broader point of view but the other may have only a short term/ narrow point of view in life, and live their lives accordingly on the respective basis.

I agree with Negra, marrying someone who is not in the same religion as your own will not be a problem as a whole as long as both the couple respect each other as every religion tells you to respect others and not harming others. I believe this explains it all. Every people has a freedom to believe what they believe in and should not be limited or forced into believing anything that they don't agree upon. Just like a wife going vegetarian while the husband is not or the husband is a christian while the wife is a Buddhist (just like my friend).

They both don't have problems living together and it is supposed to be this way instead of forcing one into our own set of thinking. In fact by harmonising together, one shows the true way of practising religion and respect and hence the world becomes a more peaceful place to live in. Harmony and peace. This is what we should live for in life. And everyone should not forget.

[biggyboy]

In my opinion, it is not a problem in marrying someone of another religions.  When two persons were to be together, both has to have mutual understandings, respect and acceptance of own beliefs and faith in the first place.  Why should we use religion as the basis for marrying someone?  On addition note, why should we discriminate religion, if there is? 

[Reena Searl]

I do not see this is an issue to me " I would marry someone that is another religion"
when i read this post ,  another interesting question arise:

If you marry someone of a different religion, what is going to be the religion of your kids?
Lettinng kids to decide ?what do you think?

Personally think that parents should teach them both religions shared morals and let kids to decide which religion to follow.

[Tammy]

Aiya Nagaseeker - it is quite obvious those people whose spouses are of different religious are in for trouble! Instead of going to the same church/temple/mosque... They spend time in peruse of different teachings and go to different places of worship, most likely they will end up having argument if religion is being brought up over dinner table... No to mention zillions of things in live that can spark domestic arguments....

Ok if they are able to respect each other's religious, what happens when it comes to upbringing of children? Would the poor kids be torn between two churches (pun intended) ??

Find the same girl/guy in your same temple... This would be my sincere advise to you..

[Positive Change]

There are many thoughts and sharings on this with pros and cons to the topic at hand. However have we lost the reason behind why we would even consider marrying someone? Is it really the religious aspects and "convenience" of going to the same church or temple, less hassle in having to explain, approve or in learning something new?

All this points to the selfish mind. Our ego. Our wants. Our insecurities. BUT I thought marrying someone was about two people coming together as ONE. Sharing. Togetherness. Unity.

How strange a simple question can make us all rear our ugly heads. I do not mean any disrespect to any person here but am merely pointing out something I have observed through a simple question posed. We are so afraid of stirring the hornets nest or upsetting the status quo. If so, why are we even want to get married. Because marriage is about a union of two very different lives. And with a union comes the good AND the bad... and that is precisely what makes it interesting to some and completely scary to some. There is no in betweens really! You do it whole heartedly or not at all because it is not about YOU anymore... multiply that in the hundreds or thousands and millions even and we have some incling of compassion!

[Carpenter]

Why not? First of all, why do we marry that person? For her family? Background? Religious? Money or marry her because of she is who she is?

When we love someone, it should not be restricted to their religious, if it is, then do we really love that person or actually ourselves. We loves ourselves more, that why when they are in different background, religious, career, etc, and we choose not to take a go with them, isn’t this pure selfish?

Moreover religious is something very universal, whether we are Buddhist or Christian, they teach us to respect each other, they teach us to built a better relationship between people and people, so, religious is never a problem, it is human that created it.