Interfaith Marriages

Interfaith, interchurch or so-called "mixed marriages" are a subject of scholarly analysis and debate that has lasted for centuries. Intermarriage between Protestants and Roman Catholics increased dramatically in the United States between the 1920s and the 1980s; recent studies described by Williams and Lawler (1, 465) indicate that a substantial number of marriages today are accurately described as "interchurch," or marriages in which each spouse belongs to a different Christian church or denomination. About 40 percent of all Catholics are married to Protestants or non-Catholics, while estimates for Protestants marrying either Catholics or Protestants of another denomination are even higher (Williams and Lawler, 1, 465).

Further, there is evidence that just as racially and ethnically mixed marriages have increased as the social taboos and barriers to such heterogeneous relationships and partnerships have declined in force, so have "mixed" marriages between individuals from radically disparate religious, social, economic, and cultural background increased in general (Williams and Lawler 2, 34).

Interfaith or interchurch marriages are generally defined as marital unions sanctified by a Catholic priest or Protestant minister in which the male and female have been reared in or belong to different Christian sects (O'Leary 472). The choice of religious ceremony to legally sanction the marriage varies, but O'Leary (473) suggested that

. . .
rituals of the faith. In a discussion of this and related matters specifically focused on Northern Ireland, where generations of tension and conflicts between Protestants and Catholics and the socioeconomic environment mitigated against such mixed marriages, O'Leary (472) commented that the taboos against interfaith marriages are falling everywhere. Two or more generations ago, families confronted with the prospect that an interfaith marriage was possible were often appalled; many families, especially those from deeply conservative faith groups which emphasize the importance of mutually shard religious beliefs as a foundation for happiness, rejected interfaith couples and in some cases even disowned children who married outside the family faith. Even in Northern Ireland, a country torn by religious conflict, thee taboos are less readily apparent than in the past. O'Leary attributes this change -- far more commonplace in secular Western countries such as the United States -- as related to the growing social mobility enjoyed by many individuals, who often live far distances from their families. The stigma attached to "mixed marriages" has admittedly declined; O'Leary suggests that this is particularly true as educational lev
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Williams Lawler, Musick Wilson, Jews Americans, Northern Ireland, Protestants Catholics, Protestants Catholic, Protestant Catholic, Catholics Jews, Catholic Protestant, Marriages Interfaith, williams lawler, interfaith marriages, williams lawler 1, musick wilson, mixed marriages, lawler 1, williams lawler 2, lawler 2, religious intermarriage, interfaith couples, marital stability, religious identity, lee lawler michael, lawler 1 465, williams lee lawler,
Approximate Word count = 1995
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Interfaith Marriages