Word: interfaith
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Like many Americans in interfaith households, I'm ping-ponging between traditions this weekend. The painted figures of the Nativity set are finally arranged in the front window; I've caught up on my Advent readings; and the Christmas-cookie-baking marathon is about to start. At the same time, the candles in the menorah are burning brightly; I'm practicing my Hebrew pronunciation for the blessing; and every corner of our apartment smells like latkes...
...survey of 4,000 U.S. adults from the Pew Forum shows that even Americans who don't live in interfaith households are curious about other religious traditions. One-quarter of all adults attend services of a faith tradition other than their own at least occasionally throughout the year (not counting special events like weddings and funerals). Social scientists and observers have known for decades that Americans generally have much higher levels of religiosity than their European cousins. But these new findings reveal that this distinctly American enthusiasm for religion includes an embrace of multiple faith practices and beliefs as well...
...researchers also looked at the effect of interfaith marriage on an individual's willingness to try different religious experiences and concluded that the link "is a complex one." In general, spouses in interfaith marriages tend to be less religiously observant than couples who belong to the same tradition - after all, it can be easier to accept a spouse from another faith if you're not terribly connected to your own. Overall, people in what the researchers call "religiously mixed marriages" attend worship services far less often than their same-religion peers, and they are no more likely to attend services...
However, individuals in interfaith marriages who do have some degree of religious commitment - attending worship services at least yearly - are actually more likely to be interested in a variety of faiths and to attend multiple types of services. More than 4 in 10 interfaith spouses (43%) report visiting other houses of worship, compared with roughly 3 in 10 people married to a spouse from the same faith...
Critics of interfaith marriage charge that it often leads to a watering down - and even abandonment - of both traditions. Rather than feeling strongly tied to two traditions, children feel no attachment to either. Parents who can't agree on which tradition their children should be raised in compromise by attending no services. But the Pew study indicates that for at least some interfaith families, religious commitment can lead to a richer, more varied faith life and a greater willingness to experience traditions outside one's own. That provides some comfort at this time of year to those of us whose...