Interfaith Families: Personal Stories of Jewish-Christian Intermarriage - Hardcover

Kaplan, Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0275982254 ISBN 13: 9780275982256

Publisher: Praeger, 2004

Synopsis

Christmas or Hanukkah? Bris or baptism? Church or synagogue? As the number of Jewish-Christian marriages in America continues to rise, couples find themselves searching for ways to navigate the choppy waters of interfaith families. Children, extended family, and communities can all contribute to the strain a marriage might feel when religion is an issue. Should the children be raised in one faith and not the other? Who should decide which holidays to celebrate and how? How can couples deal with extended family members who may not understand or accept the interfaith marriage? Here, couples in Jewish-Christian marriages describe their experiences and reveal intimate details of their lives as members of these unique families. Without being prescriptive, this book offers examples of the successes and failures, struggles and triumphs of such religiously mixed families, shedding light on new ways to approach everyday situations and major life decisions.

The couples whose stories are found in these pages describe how they tackled these topics. Many decided to maintain a Jewish household, while others decided on a Christian family life. Still others found ways to incorporate both religions, and in some cases one partner converted to the other's faith. In all situations, the couples describe their sacrifices, feelings, frustrations, and religious behaviors and practices. Readers will find an array of reactions and approaches in these pages, and will come away with fresh insight into interfaith families in general and Jewish-Christian marriage in particular.

About this title

Book Description:

Couples in Jewish-Christian marriages describe their experiences and reveal intimate details of their lives as members of these unique families.

From the Publisher:

As the number of Jewish-Christian marriages in America continue to rise, couples find themselves searching for ways to reconcile love and religion. Even when each partner has no particular religious life, they are confronted with related conflicts.

Should children be raised in one faith and not the other? Who decides which holidays to celebrate and how? How can couples deal with extended family members who may not understand or accept their interfaith marriage?

Readers will find and array of reactions and approaches as the couples profiled in this book describe how they tacked these topics. Each personal narrative offers fresh insight into interfaith families by giving examples of the successes and failures, struggles and triumphs of everyday situations and major life decisions.

About this edition

• Publisher: Praeger
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0275982254
• ISBN 13: 9780275982256
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256