Mixed Marriages

The ability of modern man to travel across the globe in less than a day has encouraged people in many societies to settle in new lands, yet it can be difficult for those who are suddenly free of the bounds of their own society. Rather than marrying someone of the faith in which they were raised, they might fall in love with someone from another religious background. These mixed marriages were discouraged by almost all religions in the past, but modern times have brought great changes.

It used to be that couples from different faiths would be forced to choose one of them for marriage, and the spouse whose religion had been rejected would have to convert to the other religion. This was often the only way they could be legally married, but it was not an easy path. Many religious zealots were convinced the conversion was only for convenience, and they would often hound the couple and their children to determine if heresy was an issue. Many modern religious institutions now provide marriage services where they have worked out a format for a wedding ceremony for both religions to be represented.

Children are often an important part of marriage, and parents generally want to raise them within their own faith. While it is less important today to stay with that thought, many religions in the past would demand a vow that the children be raised in the faith used for the marriage. The children were strictly forbidden to know anything of the religious practices of the parent whose faith was left behind when they married.

There have been a great many changes in the openness of the modern world, and cooperation between religious institutions has been one of the best ones for couples from different religions who want to marry and raise a family. They no longer face the prospect of one of them giving up their own religious traditions to satisfy the officials of another faith.