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agfreema

- 3 years ago

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Dating a Different Religion

I'll just get right to it. If spirituality is a priority in one's life, does it make it wrong or right to date someone of a different Religion? I have witnessed many relationships broken down because one party's spirituality and devotion to religion is simply too important for the other party to not share the same viewpoint. Being familiar with Christianity, I recall 2 Corinthians 6:14 saying "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" As one's spirituality and relationship with God is important to me, I tend to live by that verse and avoid close relationships with those that do not share the same views and belief system that I do. I have found that it is so important to me, I just simply cannot tolerate or hold a relationship with someone of whom it is not. Would you date someone of a different religion? Why or why not?

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I meant to say "interested" -- sorry!

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I am a Baha'i and I'm married to an agnostic person. When I first became a Baha'i and he was not interesting, it really bothered me. But one of the tenets of my faith is to have harmonious relationships with members of all religions, including no religion at all. We believe that love and unity are the best way to attract the heart. As it turns out, Baha'is are also not supposed to be fanatical, so having a non-Baha'i husband actually helped me avoid becoming fanatic because I had to balance my love of my new faith with my love and respect for my husband! And God has truly smiled on our marriage! When I first found the Baha'i faith, my husband and I were having serious marital problems. Now, we are very content and very close. My faith has taught me so much about patience, fidelity, and the importance of marriage and family. It can be done, and it's very rewarding! :)

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@zamfir "You don't date a religion, you date a person." Well said!

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It depends. I couldn't date a fundamentalist anyone of any faith. Religion is such a big part of my life that I could probably only get serious with either a Baha'i, or a non-practicing member of any religion. I say this because I want to raise my kids as Baha'is.

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well you can be of a certain faith "on paper" but in actuality not really believe or act according to that faith. so i don't think religion necessarily means anything. for me what is important is the "faith" of the heart. if i find a person who keeps close to their heart God, family, racial harmony, gender equality, other social issues, art, knowledge and compassion then it might very well not matter what religion he's "officially" a part of.

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You don't date a religion, you date a person. You will always find that the person you date has some different thoughts than you do about different things. I would say whether or not they believe in something so totally unrelated to the actual living of life would be the least of your worries. After all, nobody knows how or why or by whom the Universe came into being, so really, what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Not a damned thing.

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i definitely would. her having another religion doesn't mean her having different values. plus, if she is of a religion i'm not very common with yet, we could learn from each other. so why not?

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Date someone of another faith? sure. Get serious? no. when it comes to dating, i stick with people who share my values (respect, honesty, etc). After all, dating is about getting to know other people, to learn about them and oneself, and to connect with others. But serious relationships function best when beliefs line up (I do know a few who have successful relationships with differing beliefs, but they are the exception). And considering my own beliefs, and the focus they are in my life, it is imperative that any person i seriously get involved with share those beliefs. So as long as the other person's values match yours, go on and have fun.

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I never cut someone out if I know they have a different religion. I love to go on dates with guys who believe different things just to discuss different ideas and help me understand. However, if I was to enter into a serious relationship I imagine we would have to be at least similar in our beliefs.

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personally i will not date someone that does not share my religious beliefs. similar to what agfreema said, i cannot be in a relationship with someone with someone who does not hold the same type of things in high esteem as i do. for me, my relationship with God is very important, and i do not want to be in a relationship with someone who does not share my same passion for Him. i believe if you say your religion is truly important to you and that you hold it to be truth but become involved with someone of a different religion you are being hypocritical. if your religion is truth and is so important to you, why would you want someone who doesn't share those beliefs to be the closest person to you? if you believe, for example, that Jesus is the only way for someone to spend eternity in heaven, wouldn't you want your partner to have the same assurance as you? especially if you believe that their lack of belief will damn them to spend eternity in hell. i'm rambling...

@agfreema Detroit, Michigan

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