'Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage is Transforming America

As a Roman Catholic married to a nominal Buddhist, I was interested to see what I could glean from this study of interfaith marriage. The world is very different from 50 years ago when my aunt couldn’t be married at the main altar of our church when she married a non-Catholic. Even so, it turns out, there weren’t many surprises here. Still, it was interesting to hear how other couples dealt with the challenges of keeping the faith when one’s views of religion differ.I can’t say that I was surprised at what seem to be the three biggest challenges to interfaith couples: first, the coming together as a couple that culminates in a wedding ceremony; second, the challenge of deciding how to raise children; and, third, the experience of celebrating different holidays. Parents and other relatives try to break up couples before they can tie the knot. Couples realize too late that they have different feelings about their faith when children come along and, in a combination challenge, couples have to decide how to celebrate with their families when Christmas/Hanukkah/Ramadan/etc. roll around.I think what surprised me the most in reading this is how many couples don’t even discuss these issues before getting married. People going into marriage with these kinds of blinders on are just adding to the difficulties that all marriages face. I was fortunate. My wife and I agreed to have a Catholic wedding and raise the children in the Catholic Church before we were married. In over a decade of marriage, both of us have remained faithful to what we agreed. Granted, you can’t predict every difficulty. It is sometimes hard for me to wrangle the kids to mass on Sundays while their mother stays in bed. On the other hand, I know I could be more supportive when my wife wants to celebrate Lunar New Year or the Full Moon Festival. Still, we manage and I believe my children have benefited from a multicultural upbringing which is something I had no opportunity to experience as a kid. And yet, it was fascinating to hear from other couples with some of the same struggles.Ms. Riley peppers this book with a number of statistics which seem a bit weak and unrevealing though her interviews are very revealing of experiences of couples “on the ground”. She is also good at covering a wide range of religious beliefs beyond Christians and Jews. It is amazing how our shrinking, dynamic world is leading to cultural cross-overs that were unheard of only a few decades ago.In the end, I got the feeling that Ms. Riley was exploring her own interfaith marriage through the pursuit of this topic. It’s not necessarily a bad reason to write a book. I hope she felt enlightened at the end of it. I think many interested readers will feel the same.

This book taught me a lot. I would venture to say it is one of the best books I've seen about interfaith marriage. It covers a wide range of marital and familial topics which can and do crop up in most marriages. This book is entirely unbiased, and only present facts as they are in reality, which may leave the reader with a negative or discouraging taste in their mouth (because statistically, let's face it, interfaith marriages are not as successful as same faith ones). But I would recommend this to anyone entering into or considering a marriage of this type. Issues described in this book are ones that MUST be addressed at some point, and can't simply be swept under the rug forever. I'm a strong believer in interfaith marriage, and I feel that communication and compromise are key to the healthy meshing of two people, regardless of whether or not religions are involved.

Naomi Schaefer has compiled lots of concrete information and personal experiences to facilitate understanding the difficulties and problems faced by mixed-faith marriages. All too frequently the religious dimension of marriage today is not given adequate consideration by people considering marriage both as a source of strength and a cause of isolation and separation. I especially appreciate the effort she has made to include the principal religious trends in the US, without eliminating or glossing over both the possibility for tragedy and success. This book should be included in the reading list of all people preparing for ministry or actively involved in parish ministry...

I loved ,Amy of he concepts his book covered, but felt that there were many areas where it simply glossed over things, and could have gone more in-depth. The writing was also a little dry in places. I would likely recommend this book, with those caveats.

great read for some factual indicators of why faith is becoming so complex and fuzzy in the western world

TIL FAITH DO US PART - I am in the middle of reading it and find the statistics and Ms. Riley's comments fascinating. As a clergy person who performs interfaith weddings, I find her analyses and conclusions spot on. I recommend it for any couple who are planning an interfaith wedding as well as for their parents - and maybe someday for their children. Ms. Riley does not have an agenda, she has started out on an exploration based on true stories, including her own. Read it or you'll be sorry you didn't.

I do marriage preparation and 45% of my couples are innerfaith. this book was just what I needed to feel prepared to assist these couples in there marriages.

It was interesting to say the least. Being in an interfaith marriage myself, the challenges are real.

Interesting, but would be helpful with other faith combinations included more (Muslim-Christian for example). Focuses a lot on Jewish-Christian relationships.