Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Both of us are atheists but I dated Christian /Jewish men and even a Muslim chap once ( all of them "liberal" in their religion) so as long as they were tolerant of me , it did not matter . I suspect that differences might become more of a problem in a longer-term relationship though. I think as quoted above being "unevenly yoked" is possibly not a recipe for success but I have seen it work. A friend of mine was a vicar in the Church of England and married to an Orthodox Jewish woman. They had very very lively theological debates at the table and the kids were a bit mixed up but they were happy so it does not have to be a disaster.
It has been vital to us. Our faith is the foundation of our marriage. Neither of us was willing to marry outside our faith. That's how we wanted to raise our children too.
I do think that if you marry outside your faith, you should respect your spouse's beliefs. The biggest mistake a man or woman can make is to marry outside his/her faith and believe he/she can convert the spouse. Recipe for disaster.
Location: Ohio, but moving to El Paso, TX August/September
434 posts, read 1,653,723 times
Reputation: 310
I'm an agnostic Jew, he's an atheist. The only time I can see it being a problem is when it comes to children, but before we married, we agreed that any kids we'd have would be raised Jewish.
I believe for our children, who are voluntarily Christian, that they should be "equally yoked". It is hard for someone with deep faith, such as myself, to be married to someone with basically no faith. On the other hand it is somewhat difficult for them to be married to me, someone who has developed a very strong solid faith.
For instance, some entertainment we used to have n common, very heavy metal, certain comedians, radio disc jockeys, etc. I feel now drawn away from. I tend to want to socialize with people of similar faith, and they feel uncomfortable.
That being said, it takes a deep respect, or better yet, a good bite down of our tongues at times.
I have changed immensely since I came to Christ, and what hasn't changed yet, I can feel the Holy Spirit working on me.
That being said . . . I have been praying and my spouse suddenly has started talking about Christianity, asking questions, and even agreed to go to a service for the kids sake.
We are stilll in love after all these years and respect eachother's opinions dearly . . . sometimes we need to stop a certain conversation, because we agree to disagree, but in certain instances when are stance is really strong, things can get on the road to becoming intense.
I am an atheist. My wife was brought up with a Buddhist background but she doesn't really believe in anything. Sometimes it's hard for her to convey exactly what she means since my Japanese is decent at best and her English is good but hard for her to sometimes describe things in innate detail.
Essentially, we were watching a Discovery channel show on the evolution of man and she said that to her it makes the most sense that we evolved. She is extremely scared of the Christian churches here in the states. I have not really influenced her in any way towards this but she finds them pushy, rude, and quite frankly, arrogant. She has a friend in Japan who went to a Christian missionary and defriended her after her newly converted friend kept trying to push it on us.
The Buddhist religion does not knock on doors, stand on street corners, or any of that other stuff. They simply keep it to themselves. So, in essence, we are content with one another's beliefs. We rarely, if ever, talk about them but I find that she is much less forgiving when the preachers come knocking on the door than I am. So I just let her answer the door
I'm an agnostic Jew, he's an atheist. The only time I can see it being a problem is when it comes to children, but before we married, we agreed that any kids we'd have would be raised Jewish.
No way... another Agnostic Jew?! Good to know I'm no longer alone here, that is if you decide to stick around. Oh, and I agree with what you said about marriage too - I'd be fine with marrying someone outside of my faith, as long as they were okay with raising the kids Jewish. I'm more "culturally Jewish" (hence the Agnostic part), but would love my children to experience the same traditions & culture that I was given. My sister is married to an Atheist (Christmas-Christian, if you know what I mean), and that's the decision they've made as well.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oh, and I agree with what you said about marriage too - I'd be fine with marrying someone outside of my faith, as long as they were okay with raising the kids Jewish. I'm more "culturally Jewish" (hence the Agnostic part), but would love my children to experience the same traditions & culture that I was given. My sister is married to an Atheist (Christmas-Christian, if you know what I mean), and that's the decision they've made as well.
