Over dinner with a friend the other night, the topic of religion and relationships came up. She started dating a new guy recently, and she stated that she was relieved that he was the same religion as she was. I thought that word was interesting..."relieved." When I asked her to explain what she meant, she said she felt that relationships are hard enough as it is; dating someone who has a similar religious and/or cultural background just tends to make things easier, since many of your values and traditions are already in line.
My boyfriend and I, on the other hand, are of different religions. However, since neither of us is very observant, the fact that we are of different faiths has yet to be an issue in our relationship. If anything, the holiday season was more fun and festive, since we got to celebrate multiple holidays with both our families, instead of having to choose whose family got to "have" us. I'm not saying that it won't be a challenge at some point if we stay together, since religion typically plays a prominent role in weddings, child-rearing, and family traditions in general. But overall, I believe it's all a matter of varying degrees -- if religion is an important part of your life, then being with someone of another faith could be a deal-breaker. But if you aren't religious, being with someone of a different faith can actually add a whole new and interesting dimension to your relationship. What do you think?
1. Have you seen the new videos from AOL Love Coach Audrey Chapman? This one is on Dating Outside your Race:
http://coaches.aol.com/love-and-sex/audrey-chapman/dating-outside-my-race
Coach of Coaches at 9:54AM on Jan 12th 2007