How to handle inter-faith marriages
You'll know long before you start the wedding plans if your
faiths are different from one another--so this shouldn't be a
shock. And you may have already begun how you want to deal with
this. It doesn't have to be a problem; rather, it can be a great
way to create a new ceremony for the both of you.
Deciding to convert
Before deciding to convert to one religion or another, you want
to take your time to discover why you're doing it. Do you truly
want to convert to another religion or do you just want to make
your spouse's family happy? This is a very honest discussion to
have with your self and there aren't any good answers, except
for the ones that are true.
If you feel that converting is a good decision for you, then by
all means, go ahead and take the steps needed. Many times,
you'll have to take classes and speak with the religious head
well in advance of any wedding plans.
The trick is not to feel pressured into converting. And with all
of the emotions attached with a wedding, some families may have
trouble accepting someone of a different faith. If you believe
that you want to remain the faith that you are, you should do so.
And if your spouse is trying to coax you into converting, you
may want to hold off on the wedding as well. This is a very
personal choice, and it needs to be made by the individual, not
everyone else.
A dual faith wedding
It's actually very easy to have a wedding that incorporates two
different faiths. Sit down and see what each faith requires at
the wedding and then talk about how you can compromise to make
sure all is proper.
You may want to have the wedding in a non-denominational setting
so that you don't have the 'home court advantage' for one faith
or another. You may also decide to have two different ceremonies
weaving in and out of one another, combing elements of both
faiths. This really shows the commitment to each other and to
the separate faiths.
You may also want to have two different ministers or one
denominational. That's up to you, but if you're a part of a
temple or a church, you may need to be married by one of the
parish's priests or synagogue's rabbis.