Editing Interfaith marriage

{{Short description|Marriage between spouses professing different religions}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}

'''Interfaith marriage''', sometimes called '''interreligious marriage''' or '''mixed marriage''',<ref name="Pew 2021">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=29 June 2021 |title=Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation – Chapter 3: Religious segregation in India |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religious-segregation/ |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |series=The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life |access-date=25 March 2025 |quote=Very few [[Indian people|Indians]] say they are married to someone who currently follows a different religion than their own. Indeed, nearly all married people (99%) report that their spouse shares their religion. This includes nearly universal shares of [[Hindus]] (99%), [[Muslims]] (98%), [[Christians]] (95%), [[Sikhs]] and [[Buddhists]] (97% each). (The survey did not include enough interviews with married [[Jains]] to report on the religion of their spouses.)<br /> Not only are interreligious marriages rare in [[India]], but in recent years, some couples marrying outside their communities have experienced severe consequences, including being ostracized and even killed by family members. The Indian public prioritizes stopping the interreligious marriage of women and men at nearly equal rates. About two-thirds of Indians (65%) say it is very important to stop men from marrying into another religion, while roughly the same share (67%) say stopping interreligious marriage of women is a high priority.<br /> Most Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Jains say it is very important to stop men and women in their community from marrying outside their religion. But considerably fewer Christians and Buddhists feel this way. Among Christians, 37% say it is very important to stop the interreligious marriage of women, and 35% say the same about men. Among Buddhists, 46% say stopping the interreligious marriage of women is a high priority, and 44% say this for men. [[Religion in India|Highly religious Indians]] are especially likely to prioritize stopping interreligious marriage. For example, among adults who say religion is very important in their lives, a majority (70%) give high priority to stopping the interreligious marriage of men, compared with 39% of those who say religion is less important to them.}}</ref> is [[marriage]] between spouses professing and being legally part of [[List of religions and spiritual traditions|different religions]].<ref name="Pew 2021"/> Although interfaith marriages are often established as [[civil marriage]]s, in some instances they may be established as a [[Religious aspects of marriage|religious marriage]]. This depends on [[Religious law|religious doctrine]] of each of the two parties' religions; some prohibit interfaith marriage, and among others there are varying degrees of permissibility.<ref name="Pew 2021"/>

Several major religions are silent on the issue, and still others allow it with requirements for ceremony and custom. For [[Ethnoreligious group|ethno-religious groups]], resistance to interfaith marriage may be a form of [[Auto-segregation|self-segregation]] in order to preserve the [[cultural identity]] and [[religious beliefs]] among members of the same group,<ref name="Pew 2021"/> while interfaith marriage at times has been at times seen as a form of resisting boundaries established by religious and social norms. In an interfaith marriage, each partner typically adheres to their own religion. One issue which can arise in such unions is the choice of faith in which to raise the children.

== Legal status ==

===Human rights===
According to Article 16 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]], men and women who have attained the [[age of majority]] have the right to marry "without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml#a16|title=The Universal Declaration of Human Rights|access-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> Although most of Article 16 is incorporated verbatim in Article 23 of the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], the references to religious and racial limitations is omitted.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrweb.org/legal/cpr.html|title=UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights|access-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> Article 17, clause two, of the [[American Convention on Human Rights]] says that all men and women have the right to marry, subject to the conditions of domestic law "insofar as such conditions do not affect the principle of nondiscrimination established in this Convention."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cidh.org/Basicos/English/Basic3.American%20Convention.htm|title=AMERICAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS|website=cidh.org|access-date=22 October 2017}}</ref>

===United States===
According to a study conducted by the [[Pew Research Center]] (2015), interfaith marriage has become increasingly common in the [[United States]] during the past decades. While of marriages performed before 1960, 81% of marriages were between spouses from the same religious denomination, 11% were between spouses of different [[Christian denominations]], 5% were between a [[Christianity in the United States|Christian]] and a [[Irreligion in the United States|religiously unaffiliated spouse]], and 3% were other mixed forms of interfaith marriages, the corresponding figures for marriages performed in the period of 2010–2014 were 61%, 15%, 18% and 6%.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/06/02/interfaith-marriage/ | title=Interfaith marriage is common in U.S., particularly among the recently wed | date=2 June 2015 }}</ref> Interfaith marriages are least common among [[Hinduism in the United States|Hindus]], [[Mormons]], and [[Islam in the United States|Muslims]], and most common among [[Irreligion in the United States|religiously unaffiliated people]], [[mainline Protestants]], and [[American Jews|Jews]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/06/02/interfaith-marriage/ | title=Interfaith marriage is common in U.S., particularly among the recently wed | date=2 June 2015 }}</ref>

[[Joan Boocock Lee]], an [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]] [[British Americans|British-American]] actress who was married to the [[Agnosticism|agnostic]] [[American Jews|Jewish-American]] comic book creator [[Stan Lee]] until her death, stated that the couple faced difficulty [[Adoption in the United States|adopting a child]] in the mid-20th century United States.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=[[Joan Boocock Lee]]; [[Stan Lee]]|year=2010|title=With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story|title-link=IMDbTitle:1091863|time=0:47:20|oclc=1038407559}}</ref> Since the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s]], American composers have written [[wedding music]] for use during interfaith marriage ceremonies, most notably [[John Serry Sr.]]<ref>[https://www.esm.rochester.edu/sibley/files/John-J-Serry-Sr-Collection.pdf Eastman School of Music - University of Rochester - Sibley Music Library: John J. Serry Sr. Collection score "Processional March (1951, Revised for Organ 1968)" Folder 18 p. 10 archived at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music Sibley Music Library Special collections on esm.rochester.edu]</ref> With this in mind, Serry devoted the remaining thirty-five years of his professional career to the performance of wedding music and liturgical music of the [[Judaism in the United States|Jewish]] and [[Catholic Church in the United States|Roman Catholic]] faiths as a freelance organist at the Interfaith Chapel of [[Long Island University C W Post Campus]] in Brookville, New York (1968–2002).<ref>''The New York Times'', 21 June 1964, p. 84</ref><ref>''The New York Times'', 9 June 1965, p. 47</ref><ref>''The New York Times'', 14 June 1987, p. LI22</ref><ref>''The New York Times''14 June 1987, P. New York Region</ref><ref name="Mitchell">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/14/nyregion/interfaith-chapels-in-demand.html? |title=Interfaith Chapels in Demand |first=Ellen |last=Mitchell |work=The New York Times |date=14 June 1987 |access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> As more [[rabbi]]s sought to unite couples of different faiths without first requiring conversions in the 1960s and 1970s,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewdRDwAAQBAJ&dq=Interfaith+marriages+in+the+1960's&pg=PA22|title=Beyond Chrismukkah: The Christian-Jewish Interfaith Family in the United States|first=Samira K.|last=Mehta|date=March 13, 2018|publisher=UNC Press Books|isbn=978-1-4696-3637-5 |access-date=January 28, 2025|via=Google Books}}</ref> he collaborated with several clergymen of both the Jewish and Roman Catholic religious traditions, including Rabbi Nathaniel Schwartz<ref name="Mitchell"/> and the Rev. John Heinlein.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/18/style/no-headline-058256.html|title=No Headline|date=March 18, 1984|access-date=January 28, 2025|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/06/style/ther-ese-o-hara-and-g-a-krebs-wed.html|title=Ther ese O'Hara and G. A. Krebs Wed|date=November 6, 1983|access-date=January 28, 2025|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esm.rochester.edu/sibley/files/John-J-Serry-Sr-Collection.pdf|title=Eastman School of Music – University of Rochester – Sibley Music Library: John J. Serry Sr. Collection: Series 3, p. 6 – Scrapbook containing musical programs as archived at the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music Sibley Music Library Special collections on esm.rochester.edu|access-date=January 28, 2025}}</ref>

===India===
{{See also|Special Marriage Act, 1954|Love jihad}}

Interfaith marriage is controversial in some areas, especially disapproval of relationships between Hindus and Muslims. Advertisements and films depicting Hindu-Muslim relationships have attracted condemnation and legal action.<ref name=conversation>{{Cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-indias-love-jihad-laws-152675|title=The problem with India's 'love jihad' laws|first=Sumit|last=Ganguly|website=The Conversation|date=27 January 2021 }}</ref> Hindu-Muslim couples have experienced harassment, including posting personal details on social media.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/communalism/hindu-muslim-couples-love-jihad-rightwing-marriage-notice|title=To Harass Hindu-Muslim Couples, Rightwing Activists Are Now Using Their Marriage Documents|website=The Wire}}</ref> In 2020 and 2021, several Indian states with [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]] governments passed laws prohibiting forced conversions, and requiring notification of intent to marry and a waiting period, and allowing anyone to object to the union. Interfaith marriages have been taken as an inherent indication of a forced conversion, despite some individuals stating they will not be converting in order to marry.<ref name=crux>[https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2021/08/indian-court-strikes-down-provisions-against-interfaith-marriage/ Indian court strikes down provisions against interfaith marriage]</ref>  Fearing vigilante violence and after facing long delays and uncooperative lawyers and government officials, some couples have fled to other states to get married, often losing their jobs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/09/14/1037096376/a-new-law-in-india-is-making-it-harder-for-interfaith-couples-to-get-married|title=A New Law In India Is Making It Harder For Interfaith Couples To Get Married|website=NPR.org }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56330206|title=India's interfaith couples on edge after new law|work=BBC News |date=15 March 2021}}</ref> In August 2021, the [[Gujarat High Court]] limited the scope of that state's law on the grounds of freedom of religion.<ref name=crux />

According to scholar Tamalapakula (2019), within the context of interfaith marriage, the social dimension of the [[caste system in India]] should be heavily considered.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tamalapakula |first=Sowjanya |date=2019 |title=The Politics of Inter-caste Marriage among Dalits in India: The Political as Personal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26663710 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=317 |doi=10.1525/as.2019.59.2.315 |jstor=26663710 |issn=0004-4687|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In various instances in her study of interfaith and inter-caste marriages, arguably the dynamics of class and gender play a pivotal role in the development of social relationships between families of interfaith and inter-caste marriages. In one of the used examples, in the marriages between [[Brahmin]] women and the [[Dalit]] men, the men are often viewed poorly by Brahmin relatives and isolate from their Dalit relatives to avoid association, to attain a similar status to the Brahmin women which is socially seen as ¨pure¨ compared to the Dalit man<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tamalapakula |first=Sowjanya |date=2019 |title=The Politics of Inter-caste Marriage among Dalits in India: The Political as Personal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26663710 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=324–326 |doi=10.1525/as.2019.59.2.315 |jstor=26663710 |issn=0004-4687|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

Still, marriage is often seen as a means for the improvement of social status by Dalit men and even as a means of transcending the boundaries of caste-based discrimination and constraints for both men and women. Yet, for Dalit women, Tamalapakula argues that given that the higher castes would never accept them to be as the legal wife of a Brahmin man and as they are seen as sexually exploited from their Dalit relatives,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tamalapakula |first=Sowjanya |date=2019 |title=The Politics of Inter-caste Marriage among Dalits in India: The Political as Personal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26663710 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=330 |doi=10.1525/as.2019.59.2.315 |jstor=26663710 |issn=0004-4687|url-access=subscription }}</ref> it is another example how interfaith and inter-caste marriages are essentially tied through structural inequalities surrounding gender and class. Thus, while interfaith marriage is seen as partly controverisal and legally acceptable, it is part of a larger power dynamic that crosses between class and gender within Dalit and Brahmin castes. 

===Saudi Arabia===
[[Religion in Saudi Arabia]] is dominated and heavily influenced by the [[Salafi movement|Salafi brand]] of [[Sunni Islam]] and its [[Wahhabism|Wahhabi ideology]],<ref name="CPRT-108"/> a political and religious ideology named after [[Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab]], an 18th-century [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]] preacher, [[Islamic scholar|scholar]], and [[Islamic theology|theologian]] from the [[Najd]] region in central [[Arabia]],{{refn|<ref name="Laoust2012">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Laoust |author-first=H. |title=Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb |orig-year=1993 |year=2012 |editor1-last=Bearman |editor1-first=P. J. |editor1-link=Peri Bearman |editor2-last=Bianquis |editor2-first=Th. |editor2-link=Thierry Bianquis |editor3-last=Bosworth |editor3-first=C. E. |editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor4-last=van Donzel |editor4-first=E. J. |editor4-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor5-last=Heinrichs |editor5-first=W. P. |editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |edition=2nd |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3033 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref><ref name="Haykel2013">{{cite book |author-last=Haykel |author-first=Bernard |author-link=Bernard Haykel |year=2013 |chapter=Ibn ‛Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad (1703-92) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q1I0pcrFFSUC&pg=PA231 |editor1-last=Böwering |editor1-first=Gerhard |editor1-link=Gerhard Böwering |editor2-last=Crone |editor2-first=Patricia |editor2-link=Patricia Crone |editor3-last=Kadi |editor3-first=Wadad |editor4-last=Mirza |editor4-first=Mahan |editor5-last=Stewart |editor5-first=Devin J. |editor5-link=Devin J. Stewart |editor6-last=Zaman |editor6-first=Muhammad Qasim |title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |location=[[Princeton, New Jersey]] and [[Woodstock, Oxfordshire]] |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |pages=231–232 |isbn=978-0-691-13484-0 |quote=Founder of a revivalist and reformist religious movement centered in Najd in central Arabia and commonly referred to as the Wahhabiyya or Wahhabis, Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhab belonged to a prominent family of Hanbali scholars, the Al Musharraf of Ushayqir |access-date=15 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="Esposito2004">{{cite book |editor-last=Esposito |editor-first=John L. |editor-link=John Esposito |year=2004 |chapter=Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad (d. 1791) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6VeCWQfVNjkC&pg=PA123 |title=[[The Oxford Dictionary of Islam]] |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=123 |isbn=0-19-512559-2 |access-date=1 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="Oxford2020">{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e916 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712051853/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e916 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 12, 2016 |title=Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad - Oxford Islamic Studies Online |date=2020 |website=www.oxfordislamicstudies.com |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=15 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="Wagemakers 2021">{{cite book |author-last=Wagemakers |author-first=Joas |year=2021 |chapter=Part 3: Fundamentalisms and Extremists – The Citadel of Salafism |editor1-last=Cusack |editor1-first=Carole M. |editor1-link=Carole M. Cusack |editor2-last=Upal |editor2-first=M. Afzal |editor2-link=Afzal Upal |title=Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=21 |doi=10.1163/9789004435544_019 |doi-access=free |pages=333–347 |isbn=978-90-04-43554-4 |issn=1874-6691}}</ref>}} founder of the [[Islamic revival|Islamic revivalist]] and [[Islah|reformist]] movement known as [[Wahhabism]].{{refn|<ref name="Laoust2012"/><ref name="Haykel2013"/><ref name="Esposito2004"/><ref name="Oxford2020"/><ref name="Wagemakers 2021"/><ref name="Nahouza 2018">{{cite book |author-last=Nahouza |author-first=Namira |year=2018 |chapter=Wahhabism: A Historical Overview |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyaODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |title=Wahhabism and the Rise of the New Salafists: Theology, Power, and Sunni Islam |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]] |location=[[London]] and New York |pages=61–78 |isbn=9781788311427}}</ref><ref name="Ágoston-Masters 2009">{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Ágoston |editor1-first=Gábor |editor2-first=Bruce |editor2-last=Masters |year=2009 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |chapter=Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA260 |location=New York |publisher=[[Facts On File]] |pages=260–61 |isbn=978-0-8160-6259-1 |lccn=2008020716 |access-date=6 July 2020}}</ref>}} Hence, [[Freedom of religion|religious rights]] are restricted both for [[Saudi Arabian nationality law|Saudi citizens]] and [[Foreigners in Saudi Arabia|foreigners]] that reside in the country.<ref name="CPRT-108"/><ref name="Nahouza 2018"/><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Bokhari |editor1-first=Kamran |editor2-last=Senzai |editor2-first=Farid |year=2013 |chapter=Conditionalist Islamists: The Case of the Salafis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThiuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |title=Political Islam in the Age of Democratization |location=[[Basingstoke]] and New York |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |pages=81–100 |doi=10.1057/9781137313492_5 |isbn=978-1-137-31349-2}}</ref> Public celebration or advocacy of any other religion is generally prohibited.<ref name="CPRT-108">{{cite book |editor1-last=Hyde |editor1-first=Henry J. |editor2-last=Lugar |editor2-first=Richard G. |date=6 October 2004 |title=Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2004 and Designations of Countries of Particular Concern: Hearing Before the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, 108th Congress, 2nd Session |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Orwi3boOIpQC&pg=PA86 |location=[[Washington, D.C.]] |publisher=[[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs|U.S. House Committee on International Relations]] |page=86 |quote=[[Saudi Arabia]] doesn't allow [[Freedom of religion|religious freedom]] to any of [[Saudi Arabian nationality law|its citizens]], to [[Foreigners in Saudi Arabia|foreign expatriates]], to [[Muslims]], even to those who are [[Wahhabism|Wahhabis]]. The word "freedom" is what is missing. The [Saudi] government control over the religion and understanding of Islam is the [[International propagation of Salafism and Wahhabism|core cause of extremism]] in the country. The faith of Islam has been used by the government as a political tool to oppress reformers, critics, and opponents. Saudi Arabia is a glaring example of [[religious apartheid]]. The religious institutions extending from government clerics, judges, religious curriculums, and to all religious instructions in media are restricted to the Wahhabi understanding of Islam, adhered to by less than 40% of the population.}}</ref>

===Israel===
In [[Israel]], marriages are performed by delegated religious authorities. As such, most interfaith marriages are [[de facto]] not performed without a recognized conversion.<ref name=lerner2011p214>{{cite book|author=Hanna Lerner|title=Making Constitutions in Deeply Divided Societies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MykpY_PRtmUC|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-50292-4|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MykpY_PRtmUC&pg=PA214&lpg=PA214 214]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-04 |title=Civil marriage now |url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/civil-marriage-now-504216 |access-date=2024-02-19 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}</ref> This system is largely a continuation of the [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Ottoman Millet]] system in which different communities were  allowed to control their own internal affairs. In the [[Druze]] religion there is no marriage between Druze and non-Druze and in traditional Judaism there is no marriage between a Jew and a Gentile. Thus, interfaith marriages in which one of the spouses is Jewish or Druze, are not recognized by the state. Muslim [[Qadi|Qadis]] sometimes perform marriage ceremonies of a Muslim with a Jewish or Christian woman, and Christian priests in special cases perform marriage ceremonies of a Christian or Christian woman with a non-Christian, and in other cases they are recognized retrospectively, and in any case the state recognizes these marriages.  All interfaith marriages performed in other countries are recognized.<ref name="thejewishweek.com">Michel Chabin 2013-06-13 [http://www.thejewishweek.com/special-sections/celebrate/married-mediterranean-not-israel Married On The Mediterranean — But Not In Israel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203024852/http://www.thejewishweek.com/special-sections/celebrate/married-mediterranean-not-israel |date=3 December 2016 }} The Jewish Week. Retrieved 2015-10-01</ref> ''Hitbolelut,'' meaning [[Jewish assimilation|assimilation]] in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], is a  term used mainly to refer with prejudice to [[Jewish|Jews]] who marry outside of the Jewish people. The term has strong resonance in Israel and with many Jews worldwide as marrying outside historically meant leaving the Jewish community to be absorbed by the dominant culture.<ref name="Endelman275">{{Cite book |last=Endelman |first=Todd M. |date=2015 |title=Leaving the Jewish Fold: Conversion and Radical Assimilation in Modern Jewish History |chapter=7. Neither Jew nor Christian. New Religions, New Creeds |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400866380-010/html |location=Princeton, New Jersey |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=275 |doi=10.1515/9781400866380-010 |isbn=9781400866380 |access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Endelman |first=Todd |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781400866380 |title=Leaving the Jewish Fold |date=2015-12-31 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6638-0 |location=Princeton|doi=10.1515/9781400866380 }}</ref>

Perhaps because of these norms, interfaith marriages between a Jewish individual and a non-Jewish individual are extremely rare in Israel. One [[Pew Research Center]] study, conducted in 2014–2015, indicated that only about two percent of Jewish individuals were part of an interfaith marriage. In addition, about 97 percent of Jews in the same stated that they would be not be completely comfortable with their child marrying a Muslim while 89 percent expressed similar views when asked about a hypothetical marriage to a Christian.<ref>{{cite web |author=Pew Research Center |date=March 8, 2016 |title=11. Intergroup marriage and friendship |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2016/03/08/intergroup-marriage-and-friendship/ |access-date=July 19, 2024}}</ref>

=== Lebanon ===
Depending on the [[Sectarianism|sectarian]] affiliation of the partners, there are different legal frameworks governing interfaith marriages. As secular [[civil marriage]] is not possible in [[Lebanon]], the religious laws of the [[Sectarianism in Lebanon|18 recognised sects]] must be followed for marriage. This leads to different restrictions, such as [[Christians]], who cannot marry non-Christians in a [[Church (building)|church]], or [[Muslims|Muslim]] women, who cannot marry Christian or [[Druze]] men unless one of the partners [[Religious conversion|converts]] to the religion of the other. For Lebanese couples, an option to circumvent conversion is to have a [[Marriage in Cyprus|civil marriage in Cyprus]]. Based on a comparison made between the 2011 and the 2018 electoral registration records, a slow but steady change in mixed marriages is measured. The data shows an increase in the percentage of Lebanese marriages that were interreligious without conversion, from 0.9% in 2011, to 1.31% in 2018.<ref name=":0" /> In general interfaith marriages represent between 2 percent and 5 percent of all marriages among Lebanese.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deeb |first=Lara |title=Love Across Difference Mixed Marriage in Lebanon |date=August 10, 2024 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=9781503640764}}</ref>

In her book ''Love Across Difference: Mixed Marriage in Lebanon,'' Lara Deeb explores the histories of several interfaith couples and their [[Lived experience|lived experiences.]] In this work, Deeb describes how partners negotiated strategies to continue practicing their respective religions and how to handle religious differences in raising their children. Furthermore, the book describes familial reactions (both [[Nuclear family|nuclear]] and [[Extended family|extended]]) to interfaith marriages, as well as social [[reputation]] and [[Social class|class]] related concerns, and religious prejudices in [[Lebanon]]. The reactions depicted in the book varied widely, ranging from immediate acceptance to rejection and [[shunning]]. Deep discusses not only interfaith marriage, but also points to similar issues arising from marriage between different [[Religious denomination|religious sects]]. According to the author, interfaith marriage is becoming increasingly accepted in Lebanon. However, the disagreement between those in favor of and those against interfaith marriage is growing.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Deeb |first=Lara |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781503640764/html |title=Love Across Difference: Mixed Marriage in Lebanon |date=2024-12-31 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-4076-4 |pages=260 |doi=10.1515/9781503640764}}</ref>

== By religion ==

=== Abrahamic religions ===
==== Baháʼí Faith ====
{{Main|Baháʼí marriage}}
{{Further|Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity|Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion}}

According to the [[Baháʼí Faith]], all religions are inspired by God and interfaith marriage is permitted. A [[Baháʼí marriage|Baháʼí ceremony]] should be performed with the non-Baháʼí rite (or ceremony). If both ceremonies are performed, the non-Baháʼí ceremony should not invalidate the Baháʼí ceremony; the Baháʼí partner remains a Baháʼí, and is not adopting the religion of the other partner in the ceremony. The Baháʼí partner should also abstain from vows (or statements) committing them to a declaration of faith in another religion or that are contrary to the principles of the Baháʼí Faith. The two ceremonies should be performed on the same day; their order is not important. The Baháʼí ceremony may be performed in the place of worship of the other religion if it is afforded respect equal to the non-Baháʼí ceremony and is clearly distinct from the non-Baháʼí ceremony.

==== Christianity ====
{{Main|Interfaith marriage in Christianity}}
{{Further|Conversion to Christianity|Christianity and other religions}}
[[File:Ev Stadtkirche Ravensburg innen.jpg|thumb|300px|right|A [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] [[pastor]] in Germany marries a young couple in a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Church (building)|church]].]]

In [[Christianity]], an interfaith marriage is a marriage between a [[Christian]] and a non-Christian (e.g. a wedding between a Christian man and a Jewish woman, or between a Christian woman and a Muslim man); it is to be distinguished between an [[interdenominational marriage]] in which two baptized Christians belonging to two different [[Christian denominations]] marry (e.g. a wedding between a Lutheran Christian and a Catholic Christian). Almost all Christian denominations permit interdenominational marriages, though with respect to interfaith marriage, many Christian denominations caution against it, citing verses of the [[Christian Bible]] such as {{Bibleverse|2 Corinthians|6:14-15|KJV}}, while certain Christian denominations have made allowances for interfaith marriage, which is referenced in {{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|7:14-15|KJV}}, verses where [[Saint Paul]] addresses originally non-Christian couples in which one of the spouses became a Christian after the marriage had taken place.<ref name="Soards1999">{{cite book |last1=Soards |first1=Marion L. |title=New International Biblical Commentary: 1 Corinthians |date=1999 |publisher=Hendrickson |isbn=978-0-943575-97-1 |page=150 |language=English |quote=Although the church has attempted to work from these lines in formulating policies about so-called mixed marriages, the present verses do not deal with the majority of interfaith marriages as we know them in the late twentieth century. Paul is writing to first-century, first-generation converts, many of whom had religious backgrounds in paganism and many of whom might have spouses who were not believers.}}</ref><ref name="Lukito2012">{{cite book |last1=Lukito |first1=Ratno |title=Legal Pluralism in Indonesia: Bridging the Unbridgeable |date=6 August 2012 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-136-28557-8 |page=163 |language=English |quote=Furthermore, from the judges' understanding of Christian teaching, interfaith marriage is similarly disallowed in the New Testament (2 Corinthians 6:14).}}</ref><ref name="JuergensmeyerRoof2012">{{cite book|last1=Juergensmeyer|first1=Mark|title=Encyclopedia of Global Religion|last2=Roof|first2=Wade Clark|date=2012|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-0-7619-2729-7|page=563|language=en|quote=... most Christian churches support members who take part in intermarriage, citing 1 Corinthians 7:12-14.}}</ref><ref name="Hurtado2005">{{cite book |last=Hurtado |first=Larry W. |author-link=Larry Hurtado |chapter=To Live and Die for Jesus: Social and Political Consequences of Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xi5xIxgnNgcC&pg=PA63 |title=How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God? Historical Questions about Earliest Devotion to Jesus |date=2 November 2005 |location=[[Grand Rapids, Michigan]] and [[Cambridge|Cambridge, UK]] |publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans]] |isbn=978-0-8028-2861-3 |pages=63–64}}</ref> The consensus of the [[early Church Fathers]] was that "interreligious marriage undermined the ecclesiological integrity of the Christian community" though as [[Spread of Christianity|Christianity rapidly spread]] [[Christianity in the Roman Empire|in the Roman Empire]], cases would arise among non-Christian couples in which one person [[conversion to Christianity|converted to Christianity]]; ''[[Apostolic Tradition]]'', an early Christian Church Order, references such an interfaith couple in its instructions on [[Christian prayer]] at the [[fixed prayer times|seven fixed prayer times]] and the [[ablution in Christianity|ablutions]] preceding them, stating:<ref name="Weitz2018">{{cite book |last1=Weitz |first1=Lev E. |title=Between Christ and Caliph: Law, Marriage, and Christian Community in Early Islam |date=24 May 2018 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-5027-5 |page=204 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Hippolytus" />
{{Quote|Around midnight rise and wash your hands with water and pray. If you are married, pray together. But if your spouse is not yet baptized, go into another room to pray, and then return to bed. Do not hesitate to pray, for one who has been joined in marital relations is not impure.<ref name="Hippolytus">{{cite web |author1=Hippolytus |author-link=Hippolytus of Rome |title=Apostolic Tradition |url=http://www.stjohnsarlingtonva.org/Customer-Content/saintjohnsarlington/CMS/files/EFM/Apostolic_Tradition_by_Hippolytus.pdf |publisher=St. John's Episcopal Church |access-date=5 September 2020 |page=16 |language=en}}</ref>
}}
The early Christian [[Synod of Elvira|Council of Elvira]] prohibited interreligious marriage "no matter how few eligible men there are, for such marriages lead to the adultery of the soul."<ref name="Witte2012">{{cite book |last1=Witte |first1=John |title=From Sacrament to Contract, Second Edition: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition |date=31 January 2012 |publisher=Presbyterian Publishing Corp |isbn=978-1-61164-192-9 |page=62 |language=en |quote=The Council of Elvira also prohibited interreligious marriage: 15. Christian girls are not to marry pagans, no matter how few eligible men there are, for such marriages lead to the adultery of the soul. 17. If parents allow their daughter to marry a pagan priest, they shall not receive communion even at the time of death.}}</ref> The [[Church of the East]], in the [[Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon]] in AD 410, ruled that "Christian women should not marry across religious boundaries" though it allowed for Christian men to marry "women of all nations" (''neshē men kul 'ammin'') in order that Christian men would "instruct them in the ways of Christianity."<ref name="Weitz2018"/> The cultural context at the time was that a couple's children would follow the religion of the father.<ref name="Sahanam2009">{{cite book |last1=Sahanam |first1=L. E. |title=Belonging But Not Believing: Interfaith Marriage |date=2009 |publisher=[[ISPCK]] |isbn=978-81-8458-088-4 |page=25 |language=English}}</ref> The Synod of Elvira forbade Christian parents who permitted their daughters to marry nonbelievers to receive [[Eucharist|Holy Communion]], "even at the time of death".<ref name="Witte2012"/>

In the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]], the local church congregation is tasked with supporting and including the interfaith couple in the life of the Church, "help[ing] parents make and live by commitments about the spiritual nurture of their children", and being inclusive of the children of the interfaith couple.<ref name="PCUSA2010">{{cite book|title=Interfaith Marriage|date=6 October 2010|publisher=[[Presbyterian Church (USA)]]|page=2}}</ref> The pastor is to be available to help and counsel the interfaith couple in their life journey.<ref name="PCUSA2010" />

The [[Catholic Church]] recognizes as sacramental, (1) the marriages between two baptized Protestants or between two baptized Orthodox Christians, as well as (2) marriages between baptized non-Catholic Christians and Catholic Christians,<ref name="Foster1999">{{cite book|last=Foster|first=Michael Smith|url=https://archive.org/details/annulmentwedding00fost/page/83|title=Annulment|publisher=[[Paulist Press]]|year=1999|isbn=9780809138449|page=[https://archive.org/details/annulmentwedding00fost/page/83 83]|quote=The Catholic Church considers marriages of baptized Protestants to be valid marriages. So if two Lutherans marry in the Lutheran Church in the presence of a Lutheran minister, the Catholic Church recognizes this as a valid sacrament of marriage.}}</ref> although in the latter case, consent from the diocesan bishop must be obtained, with this termed "permission to enter into a mixed marriage".<ref name="Burke1999">{{cite book|last=Burke|first=John|title=Catholic Marriage|publisher=Paulines Publications Africa|year=1999|isbn=9789966081063|page=98|quote=We might remind ourselves here that a marriage between a Catholic and a baptized person that takes place in the Catholic Church, or in another Church with permission from the diocesan bishop, is a sacramental union. Such a marriage is a life-long union and no power on earth can dissolve it.}}</ref> To illustrate (1), for example, "if two Lutherans marry in the Lutheran Church in the presence of a Lutheran minister, the Catholic Church recognizes this as a valid sacrament of marriage."<ref name="Foster1999" /> On the other hand, although the Catholic Church recognizes marriages between two non-Christians or those between a Catholic Christian and a non-Christian, these are not considered to be sacramental, and in the latter case, the Catholic Christian must seek permission from their bishop for the marriage to occur; this permission is known as "dispensation from [[disparity of cult]]".<ref>{{cite web|year=1996|title=Are non-Catholic marriages valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church? What if a Catholic marries a non-Catholic?|url=http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/are-non-catholic-marriages-valid-in-the-eyes-of-the-catholic-church-what-if-a-catholi|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221104452/http://www.catholic.com/quickquestions/are-non-catholic-marriages-valid-in-the-eyes-of-the-catholic-church-what-if-a-catholi|archive-date=21 December 2013|access-date=16 June 2015|publisher=[[Catholic Answers]]|quote=Supernatural marriages exist only between baptized people, so marriages between two Jews or two Muslims are only natural marriages. Assuming no impediments, marriages between Jews or Muslims would be valid natural marriages. Marriages between two Protestants or two Eastern Orthodox also would be valid, presuming no impediments, but these would be supernatural (sacramental) marriages and thus indissoluble.|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In [[Methodism|Methodist Christianity]], the 2014 [[Book of Discipline]] of the [[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]] discourages interfaith marriages, stating "Many Christians have married unconverted persons. This has produced bad effects; they have either been hindered for life, or have turned back to perdition."<ref name="AWMC2014">{{cite book|title=The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference)|publisher=[[Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection]]|year=2014|location=[[Salem, Ohio|Salem]]|pages=33|language=English}}</ref> Though the [[United Methodist Church]] authorizes its clergy to preside at interfaith marriages, it notes that {{Bibleverse|2 Corinthians|6:14|KJV}} has been interpreted "as at least an ideal if not an absolute ban on such [interfaith] marriages as an issue of scriptural faithfulness, if not as an issue of Christian survival."<ref name="BurtonEdwards2010">{{cite web|last1=Burton-Edwards|first1=Taylor|date=2010|title=Interfaith Marriage: Pastoral Discernment and Responsibility|url=https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/blog/interfaith-marriage-pastoral-discernment-and-responsibility|access-date=30 November 2020|publisher=[[The United Methodist Church]]|language=en}}</ref> At the same time, for those already in an interfaith marriage (including cases in which there is a non-Christian couple and one party [[conversion to Christianity|converts to Christianity]] after marriage), the Church notes that [[Saint Paul]] "addresses persons married to unbelievers and encourages them to stay married (see {{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|7:12-16|KJV}})."<ref name="BurtonEdwards2010" /> The [[Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches]] teaches that "For a Christian to marry an unbeliever is unscriptural. If one does marry an unconverted party and trouble follows, he/she cannot blame God for his/her wrongdoing but must expect to pay the penalty, for the marriage covenant is morally binding so long as both live and, therefore, may not be dissolved at will ({{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|7:39|KJV}})."<ref>{{cite book |title=Declaration of Principles: Manual of the Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches |date=2017 |publisher=[[Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches]] |page=22}}</ref>

==== Islam ====
{{Main|Interfaith marriage in Islam}}
{{Further|Conversion to Islam|Islam and other religions}}
[[File:Icon Iakovos Moskos.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Interfaith marriage between [[Christianity and Islam|Muslims and Christians]] is discussed in the [[Ashtiname of Muhammad]], a treaty that was recorded between [[Muhammad]] and the abbots of [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]], which is depicted in this [[icon]].<ref name="Ahmed2013">{{cite book |author-last=Ahmed |author-first=Akbar S. |year=2013 |title=Postmodernism and Islam: Predicament and Promise |location=[[London]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |isbn=978-1-134-92417-2 |page=62 |quote=The [[Quran]] speaks favourably of the [[People of the Book]]. For example, Surah 3, verse 199, carries a universal message of goodwill and hope to all those who believe, the People of the Book irrespective of their religious label—[[Christians|Christian]], [[Jews|Jew]], or [[Muslims|Muslim]]. Muslims can marry with the People of the Book [...].}}</ref>]]

While the legality of interfaith marriage varies in contemporary [[Muslim-majority countries]], in traditional [[Islamic culture]] and traditional Islamic law [[Sex segregation and Islam|Muslim women are forbidden from marrying Non-Muslim men]], whereas Muslim men are permitted to marry Christian or Jewish women.<ref name="Haqqani 2023">{{cite journal |author-last=Haqqani |author-first=Shehnaz |date=May 2023 |title=The Qur’an on Muslim Women’s Marriage to Non-Muslims: Premodern Exegetical Strategies, Contradictions, and Assumptions |journal=[[Journal of Qur'anic Studies]] |location=[[Edinburgh]] |publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]] on behalf of the Centre for Islamic Studies at the [[SOAS University of London|School of Oriental and African Studies]] ([[University of London]]) |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages= |doi=10.3366/jqs.2023.0529 |doi-access=free |issn=1755-1730 |s2cid=258774130}}</ref><ref name="Elmali-Karakaya 2020">{{cite book |author-last=Elmali-Karakaya |author-first=Ayse |year=2020 |chapter=Being Married to a Non-Muslim Husband: Religious Identity in Muslim Women's Interfaith Marriages |editor1-last=Hood |editor1-first=Ralph W. |editor2-last=Cheruvallil-Contractor |editor2-first=Sariya |title=Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion: A Diversity of Paradigms |volume=31 |pages=388–410 |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/9789004443969_020 |isbn=978-90-04-44348-8 |s2cid=234539750 |issn=1046-8064}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Leeman |first=A. B. |date=Spring 2009 |title=Interfaith Marriage in Islam: An Examination of the Legal Theory Behind the Traditional and Reformist Positions |url=https://ilj.law.indiana.edu/articles/84/84_2_Leeman.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Indiana Law Journal]] |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Maurer School of Law]] |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=743–772 |issn=0019-6665 |s2cid=52224503 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123062516/https://ilj.law.indiana.edu/articles/84/84_2_Leeman.pdf |archive-date=23 November 2018 |access-date=25 August 2021}}</ref> It is lawful for Muslim men to marry Jewish or Christian women but not a polytheist woman ([[Quran 5:5]]).<ref name="Haqqani 2023"/><ref name="Cite quran|5|5|t=y|s=ns">{{Cite quran|5|5|t=y|s=ns}}</ref> In the case of a Muslim-Christian marriage, which is to be contracted only after permission from the Christian party, the Christian spouse is not to be prevented from [[Church service|attending church]] for prayer and worship, according to the [[Ashtiname of Muhammad]], a treaty between Muslims and Christians recorded between [[Muhammad]] and [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]].<ref name="Ahmed2013"/><ref name="TimaniAshton2019">{{cite book|last1=Timani|first1=Hussam S.|title=Post-Christian Interreligious Liberation Theology|last2=Ashton|first2=Loye Sekihata|date=29 November 2019|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=978-3-030-27308-8|page=196|language=en}}</ref>

On the other hand, according to the traditional understanding of interfaith marriage in Islam, Muslim women are forbidden from intermarrying with Non-Muslim men based on the interpretations of different [[Ulama|Muslim scholars]] regarding the [[Sharia|Islamic law]].<ref name="Haqqani 2023"/><ref>Saeed, Hassan (2004): ''Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam''. Ashgate Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-7546-3082-1}}.</ref><ref>Daniels, Timothy P. (2005): ''Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia''. Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-94971-8}}.</ref><ref>Altstein,Howard;Simon, Rita James (2003): ''Global perspectives on social issues: marriage and divorce''. Lexington, Mass: LexingtonBooks. {{ISBN|0-7391-0588-4}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Marriage to Saudis | url=https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_931.html| publisher = U.S. Department of State | url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614045804/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_931.html|archive-date=14 June 2012|access-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> The Quran states:
{{blockquote|Do not marry polytheist woman until she believes; a slave believing woman is better than polytheist women though she allures you; Do not marry (your girls) to polytheist man until he believes: A man slave who believes is better than a polytheist man, even though he allures you. They do (but) beckon you to the Fire. But God beckons by His Grace to the Garden (of bliss) and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind: so that they may understand.|[[Quran 2:221]]<ref name="Cite quran|2|221|t=y|s=ns">{{Cite quran|2|221|t=y|s=ns}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote|O ye who believe! When there come to you believing women refugees, examine (and test) them: God knows best as to their Faith: if ye ascertain that they are Believers, then send them not back to the Unbelievers. They are not lawful wives for the Unbelievers, nor are the Unbelievers lawful husbands for them.|[[Quran 60:10]]<ref name="Cite quran|60|10|t=y|s=ns">{{Cite quran|60|10|t=y|s=ns}}</ref>}}

In some societies outside the traditional ''[[Divisions of the world in Islam|dar al-islam]]'', interfaith marriages between Muslims and Non-Muslims are not uncommon, including marriages that contradict the historic Sunni understanding of ''[[Ijma|ijmāʿ]]'' (the consensus of ''[[Faqīh|fuqāha]]'') as to the bounds of legitimacy.<ref name="Elmali-Karakaya 2020"/><ref name="Ghouse2017">{{cite web |last1=Ghouse |first1=Mike |title=Can A Muslim Woman Marry A Non-Muslim Man? |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/can-a-muslim-woman-marry-a-non-muslim-man_b_589aae92e4b061551b3e05a8 |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=31 October 2020 |language=en |date=8 February 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Leeman|2009}} The tradition of [[Liberalism and progressivism within Islam|reformist and progressive Islam]], however, permits marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men;{{sfn|Leeman|2009}} Islamic scholars opining this view include [[Islamic feminism|Muslim feminist]] Shehnaz Haqqani, [[Khaleel Mohammed]], [[Daayiee Abdullah]], and [[Hassan Al-Turabi]], among others.<ref name="Haqqani 2023"/><ref name="Jahangir2017">{{cite web |last=Jahangir |first=Junaid |date=21 March 2017 |title=Muslim Women Can Marry Outside The Faith |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/junaid-jahangir/muslim-women-marriage_b_15472982.html |url-status=live |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325020231/https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/junaid-jahangir/muslim-women-marriage_b_15472982.html |archive-date=25 March 2017 |access-date=25 August 2021}}</ref> [[Umar ibn al-Khattab|ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb]] (634–644) denied interfaith marriage to Muslim men during his command of the ''[[Ummah]]''.<ref name="onislam.net">{{cite web|title=Marriage to a Christian Woman: Unrestrictedly Permitted?|url=http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/family/marriage/174258-marriage-to-a-christian-woman-unrestrictedly-permitted.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901212226/http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-the-scholar/family/marriage/174258-marriage-to-a-christian-woman-unrestrictedly-permitted.html|archive-date=1 September 2012|access-date=17 March 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Many [[Muslim world|Muslim-majority countries]] allow interfaith marriages to Christian or Jewish women but not to Christian or Jewish men.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wluml.org/english/pubs/rtf/dossiers/dossier22/D22-13-psl.rtf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429175400/http://www.wluml.org/english/pubs/rtf/dossiers/dossier22/D22-13-psl.rtf|url-status=dead|title=The Need to Unify Personal Status Laws in Arab Countries|archivedate=April 29, 2009}}</ref> In [[Lebanon]] for example, there is no civil personal status law. Conventionally, marriages are performed according to the sect the spouses belong to. [[Turkey]] allows marriages between Muslim women and Non-Muslim men through secular laws.<ref name=fordham>[http://law2.fordham.edu/publications/articles/500flspub13019.pdf TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY LOVING: NATIONALITY, GENDER, AND RELIGION IN THE MUSLIM WORLD] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719194930/http://law2.fordham.edu/publications/articles/500flspub13019.pdf |date=2011-07-19 }}</ref> In [[Tunisia]] since 16 September 2017, Muslim women can lawfully marry any man of any faith, or of [[Irreligion|none]]. In [[Malaysia]], a Non-Muslim must convert to Islam in order to marry a Muslim, and the offspring of such unions are automatically Muslims.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.malaysia.gov.my/EN/Relevant%20Topics/Society%20and%20Life/Citizen/Family/Marriage/ProcedureMarriageMuslimandNonMuslim/Pages/MarriageBetweenMuslimandNonMuslim.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813113000/http://www.malaysia.gov.my/EN/Relevant%20Topics/Society%20and%20Life/Citizen/Family/Marriage/ProcedureMarriageMuslimandNonMuslim/Pages/MarriageBetweenMuslimandNonMuslim.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Marriage Procedures Between Muslim and Non-Muslim|archivedate=August 13, 2009}}</ref>

Canadian Muslim scholar [[Ahmad Kutty]] has expressed disapproval of all interfaith marriages, citing the example of [[Umar ibn al-Khattab|ʿUmar]].<ref name="onislam.net"/> According to Canadian Islamic teacher [[Bilal Philips]], the verse permitting Muslim men to marry Non-Muslim women is no longer valid for several reasons (including its misinterpretation).<ref>{{cite web|date=2006-12-14|title=Marriage to Non Muslim - Contemporary Issues - Bilal Philips|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7boA3baF2dg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/7boA3baF2dg| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|access-date=2012-11-07|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Canadian Islamic scholar [[Shabir Ally]] has also said that it is ''makruh'' for a Muslim man to marry outside his religion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Can a Muslim Woman Marry a Non-Muslim Man?|url=http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/society-and-family/interfaith-issues/461537-can-a-muslim-women-marry-a-non-muslim-man.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228192858/http://www.onislam.net/english/ask-about-islam/society-and-family/interfaith-issues/461537-can-a-muslim-women-marry-a-non-muslim-man.html|archive-date=28 February 2013|access-date=17 March 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The movement of [[progressive Islam]] permits marriage between Muslim women and Non-Muslim men; Members opining this view include Islamic scholars such as [[Islamic feminism|Muslim feminist]] Shehnaz Haqqani, [[Khaleel Mohammed]], [[Daayiee Abdullah]], and [[Hassan Al-Turabi]], among others.<ref name="Haqqani 2023"/><ref name="Jahangir2017"/>

==== Judaism ====
{{Main|Interfaith marriage in Judaism}}
{{Further|Conversion to Judaism|Judaism and other religions}}
[[File:Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld- Ruth im Feld des Boaz.jpg|thumb|300px|left| In the [[Hebrew Bible]], [[Ruth (biblical figure)|Ruth]] was a [[Moabites|Moabite]] woman who married an [[Israelites|Israelite]] man, [[Mahlon and Chilion|Mahlon]]. She is the person after whom the [[Book of Ruth]] is named.]]

Interfaith marriage in [[Judaism]] was historically viewed with disfavor among [[Rabbinic Judaism|rabbinical Jewish leaders]], and it remains a controversial topic to this day. The [[Talmud]] and ''[[Posek|poskim]]'' prohibit non-Jews to marry Jews, and discuss when the prohibition is from the [[Torah]] and when it is [[Rabbinic literature|rabbinical]].<ref>Talmud Bavli, [[Avodah Zarah]] 36b; [[Maimonides]], [[Mishneh Torah]], Sanctity, Laws of Prohibited Relations 12:1 and commentaries; Rabbi [[Yosef Karo]], [[Shulchan Aruch]] II:16:2 and commentaries</ref> In 1236, [[Moses of Coucy]] encouraged Jewish men who had married Christian or [[Women in Islam|Muslim women]] to divorce them.<ref>Moses of Coucy, ''Sefer Mitzvot ha-Gadol'', 112, as per JE</ref> In 1844, the reformed [[Rabbinical Conference of Brunswick]] permitted Jews to marry "any adherent of a [[Monotheism|monotheistic religion]]" if children of the marriage were raised Jewish.<ref name="JewEncInter">''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Intermarriage''</ref> This conference was controversial; one of its resolutions called on members to abolish the ''[[Kol Nidre]]'' prayer, which opens the ''[[Yom Kippur]]'' service.<ref>Jewish Encyclopedia, "Conferences, Rabbinical"</ref> One member of the conference later changed his opinion, becoming an opponent of intermarriage.<ref>Ludwig Philippson, ''Israelitische Religionslehre'' (1865), 3:350</ref>

Traditional Judaism does not consider marriage between a [[Who is a Jew?|Jew by birth]] and a convert to Judaism as intermarriage;<ref>[[Berakhot (Talmud)|Berakhot]] 28a</ref><ref>Kiddushin 5:4 (Tosefta)</ref><ref>Rabbi [[Yosef Karo]], ''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'' III:4:10</ref> Biblical passages which apparently support intermarriage, such as that of [[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]] to [[Asenath]] and [[Ruth (biblical figure)|Ruth]] to [[Boaz]], were regarded by classical rabbis as having occurred after the non-Jewish spouse had converted.<ref>Genesis Rabbah, 65</ref> Some still considered [[Canaan|Canaanites]] forbidden to marry even after their conversion to Judaism, although this did not necessarily apply to their children.<ref>Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Sanctity, Laws of Prohibited Relations, 12:22 and Maggid Mashnah ad. loc.</ref>

[[Orthodox Judaism]] refuses to accept intermarriage and tries to avoid facilitating them.
[[Conservative Judaism]] does not sanction intermarriage but encourages acceptance of the non-Jewish spouse by the family in the hope that such acceptance will lead to the spouse's [[conversion to Judaism]].<ref>''Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism'', ''Statement on Intermarriage'', Adopted on March 7, 1995</ref> In December 2014, the [[United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism]]'s [[United Synagogue Youth]] controversially modified a binding rule that its leaders would not [[Dating|date]] [[Goy|non-Jews]], replacing it with a "recogni[tion of] the importance of dating within the Jewish community."<ref name="A7-intermarriage">{{cite news|last1=Fendel|first1=Hillel|title=Conservative Judaism Youth Group Relaxes Inter-Dating Rules|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/189151|access-date=26 December 2014|issue=Main-News-Jewish World|publisher=Arutz Sheva|date=26 December 2014}}</ref>

[[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]] denominations of Judaism do not generally regard the authority of classical rabbis; many [[rabbi]]s from these denominations are willing to officiate at interfaith marriages,<ref>''Survey of the American Rabbinate'', The Jewish Outreach Institute, {{cite web |url=http://joi.org/library/research/rabbis.shtml |title=The Jewish Outreach Institute |access-date=2009-11-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903010038/http://joi.org/library/research/rabbis.shtml |archive-date=3 September 2009 |df=dmy-all }} (retrieved 6 May 2009)</ref><ref>''Summary of Rabbinic Center for Research and Counseling 2003 Survey'', Irwin H. Fishbein, Rabbi, D. Min., Rabbinic Center for Research and Counseling, [http://www.rcrconline.org/research.htm] (retrieved 6 May 2009)</ref> although some try to persuade intermarried couples to raise their children as Jews. In 1870, some Reform Jews published the opinion that intermarriage is prohibited.<ref>D.Einhorn, in ''The Jewish Times'', (1870), No. 45, p. 11</ref>

In 2015 the [[Reconstructionist Rabbinical College]] voted to accept rabbinical students in interfaith relationships, making [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] the first major movement within Judaism to allow rabbis to have relationships with non-Jewish partners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/75811/reconstructionists-give-green-light-to-intermarried-rabbinical-students|title=Reconstructionists give green light to intermarried rabbinical students|publisher=Jweekly|author=Lisa Hostein|date=October 1, 2015|access-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> [[Humanistic Judaism]] is a nontheistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life, defining Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people. The [[Society for Humanistic Judaism]] answers the question, "Is intermarriage contributing to the demise of Judaism?" on its website: "Intermarriage is the positive consequence of a free and open society. If the Jewish community is open, welcoming, embracing, and pluralistic, we will encourage more people to identify with the Jewish people rather than fewer. Intermarriage could contribute to the continuity of the Jewish people."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shj.org/humanistic-judaism/13-tough-questions |title=13 Tough Questions |publisher=Shj.org |date=2013-05-13 |access-date=2015-10-22}}</ref>

During the early 19th century, intermarriage was relatively rare; less than one-tenth of one percent of the Jews of Algeria, for example, practiced [[exogamy]].<ref>Ricoux, ''Demography of Algeria'', Paris, 1860, p. 71</ref> Since the early 20th century, rates of Jewish intermarriage have increased. In the [[United States]] from 1996 to 2001, nearly half (47 percent) of marriages involving Jews were intermarriages with non-Jewish partners<ref>[[National Jewish Population Survey 2000-01]]</ref> (a similar proportion—44 percent—as in the early 20th century in [[New South Wales]]).<ref>''Census of New South Wales, 1901'', Bulletin No. 14</ref>

In [[Israel]], the religious authorities, which are the only entities authorized to perform weddings in Israel, can only perform marriages within the confines of whatever religion they are a religious figure for. Therefore, interfaith couples can usually be legally married in Israel only if one of the partners converts to the religion of the other.<ref name="thejewishweek.com"/> For this reason, interfaith couples from Israel and [[Lebanon]] often travel to [[Cyprus]] to be legally wed.<ref>{{cite news | title=Interfaith couples go to Cyprus to wed | work = The Washington Times | date=2009-10-21 | url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/21/interfaith-couples-go-to-cyprus-to-wed/ | access-date=2023-04-19}}</ref>

=== Dharmic religions ===
==== Buddhism ====
{{Main|Buddhist view of marriage}}

==== Hinduism ====
{{Main|Marriage in Hinduism}}
{{Further|Caste system in India|Inter-caste marriages in India}}
[[File:Women of all nations; a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs and influence (1908) (14596144980).jpg|thumb|300px|right|Photograph of a [[bride]] and [[bridegroom]] of the [[Shudra]] caste in a [[horse-drawn vehicle]] (1908)]]

In [[Hinduism]], sacred texts like the ''[[Vedas]]'' do not have any views on interfaith marriages by differentiating between people of different religions. This is because there was no other known religion in [[ancient India]] during their composition. Law books like the ''[[Manusmriti]]'', ''[[Yajnavalkya Smriti]]'', and the ''Parashara Smriti'' speak of marriage rules among various ''[[Kaula (Hinduism)|kula]]'' and ''[[gotra]]'', i.e. marriage outside of the [[Varna (Hinduism)|Hindu caste system]] (''varṇa'').<ref name="Pew 2021"/> According to the caste system, marriage is normally between two individuals of the same ''varṇa''. Marriages between men of higher birth and women of lower birth (''anuloma'') was sanctioned, but marriages between men of lower birth and women of higher birth (''pratiloma'') were frowned upon.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ray |first=Bharati |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=142HAwAAQBAJ&dq=marriage+within+varna&pg=PA36 |title=Women of India: Colonial and Post-colonial Periods |date=2005-09-15 |publisher=SAGE Publications India |isbn=978-81-321-0264-9 |pages=36 |language=en}}</ref> [[Historical Vedic religion|Ancient Hindu literature]] identified four classes of ''varṇa'': [[Brahmin]]s, [[Kshatriya]]s, [[Vaishya]]s, and [[Shudra]]s. However, the [[Hindu Marriage Act]] in India requires that both the bride and the bridegroom belong only to [[Hinduism]] or [[Indian religions|other Dhārmic religions]] ([[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Sikhism]]) with the exclusion of non-Dhārmic religions, and if any of the two parties converts to any non-Hindu and non-Vedic religion, the marriage automatically becomes null and void.<ref>{{Cite book |last=India |first=Parliament of |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hindu_Marriage_Act,_1955 |title=Hindu Marriage Act, 1955}}</ref> However, interfaith marriages are accepted under the [[Special Marriage Act, 1954|Special Marriage Act]] of India.

==== Sikhism ====
{{Main|Anand Karaj}}
{{Further|Sikhism and other religions|Three pillars of Sikhism}}

Despite some ''[[gurdwara]]s'' allowing weddings [[Anand Karaj#Anand Karaj of a Sikh with a non-Sikh|between a Sikh and a non-Sikh]], the vast majority oppose it.<ref name="Pew 2021"/> As per the 1945 Sikh Rehat Maryada (Code of Conduct), an interfaith anand karaj is not allowed within the Sikh faith.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kaurlife.org/2016/09/14/inter-faith-anand-karaj/ | title=The Inter-Faith Anand Karaj | date=14 September 2016 }}</ref> The 10th Sikh Guru had indicated within [[The 52 Hukams of Guru Gobind Singh]] that "a Sikh’s daughter must be married to a Sikh". In 2014, the [[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|Sikh Council in the United Kingdom]] developed a consistent approach towards marriages in ''gurdwaras'' where one partner is not of Sikh origin, following a two-year consultation with ''Gurdwara'' Sahib Committees, Sikh organizations, and individuals. The resulting guidelines were approved by the General Assembly of the Sikh Council in the United Kingdom on 11 October 2014, and state that ''gurdwaras'' are encouraged to ensure that both parties to an ''[[Anand Karaj]]'' wedding ceremony are Sikhs, but that where a couple chooses to undertake a [[civil marriage]] they should be offered the opportunity to hold an ''Ardas'', ''Sukhmani Sahib Path'', ''Akhand Path'', or other service to celebrate their marriage in the presence of family and friends.<ref>{{cite web|author=Sikh Council UK|date=25 October 2014|title=Sikh Council UK Develops Guidelines of Approach to Inter-Faith Marriages in Gurdwaras|url=https://www.sikh24.com/2014/10/25/sikh-council-uk-develops-guidelines-of-approach-to-inter-faith-marriages-in-gurdwaras/|access-date=11 September 2016|website=Sikh24.com}}</ref> [[Gurdwara Sahib Leamington and Warwick#Conflict|Some ''gurdwaras'']] permit mixed marriages, which has led to controversy.

==== Zoroastrianism ====
[[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]] [[Parsis|in the Indian subcontinent]] disapprove of and discourage interfaith marriages. When a female adherent marries a partner from another religion, they go through the risk of not being able to enter the [[Fire temple#Atash Adaran|Agyaris]] and [[Atash Behram]]s. In the past, their partner and children were forbidden from entering Zoroastrian religious buildings; this is often still observed. Alternatively in a few cases such as that of [[Suzanne RD Tata]], the non-Zoroastrian spouse has been allowed to convert Zoroastrianism by undergoing the ''[[navjote]]'' ritual.<ref>{{cite web|date=17 December 2010|title=Conversion Allowed in Zoroastrianism ?|url=https://zoroastrians.net/2010/12/17/conversion-allowed-in-zoroastrianism/|access-date=22 October 2017|website=zoroastrians.net}}</ref> Interfaith marriages may skew Zoroastrian demographics, since the number of adherents is low.

=== Serer religion ===
In orthodox [[Serer religion]] (an [[Ethnoreligious group|ethno-religious faith]]), interfaith and [[Interracial marriage|interracial]] marriages are forbidden. Banishment and disinheritance may be levied against a [[Serer people|Serer]] who disobeys the law.<ref name="Serer Race">Ndiaye, Ousmane Sémou, "Diversité et unicité [[Serer people|Sérères]]: L'Exemple Le de la [[Thiès Region|Région de Thiès]]", [in] ''Ethiopiques'' n°54, revue semestrielle, de culture négro-africaine, Nouvelle série volume 7., 2e semestre (1991)[http://ethiopiques.refer.sn/spip.php?page=imprimer-article&id_article=1253] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630093306/http://ethiopiques.refer.sn/spip.php?page=imprimer-article&id_article=1253|date=30 June 2020}}</ref> The [[Serer-Noon]] (a sub-group of the Serer people) adhere strongly to this teaching.<ref name="Serer Race"/>

==See also==
* [[Auto-segregation]]
* [[Ecumenism]]
* [[Endogamy]]
* [[Flirty Fishing]]
* [[Interdenominational marriage]]
* [[Interracial marriage]]
* [[Love jihad]]
* [[Multiple religious belonging]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Brym, R., & Lenton, R. (2021). [[doi:10.25071/1916-0925.40184|"Jewish Religious Intermarriage in Canada."]] ''Canadian Jewish Studies Études Juives Canadiennes'', 30, 67–82. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.25071/1916-0925.40184</nowiki> (Original work published November 30, 2020)
* ''Interfaith Marriage: Share and Respect with Equality,'' Dr. Dilip Amin, Mount Meru publishing
* ''This is My Friend, This is My Beloved: A Pastoral Letter on Human Sexuality'' (Jewish) Elliot N. Dorff, The Rabbinical Assembly
* ''It All Begins with a Date: Jewish Concerns about Intermarriage'', Alan Silverstein, [[Jason Aronson]], 1995, {{ISBN|1-56821-542-8}}
* ''Strange Wives: Intermarriage in the biblical world'', Stanley Ned Rosenbaum and [[Allen Secher]], 2014, {{ISBN|0986322601}}
* ''Intimate Diversity: an Anglican Practical Theology of Interreligious Marriage,'' Paul Aidan Smith, [Brill], 2021, {{ISBN|978-90-04-46032-4 }}
* ''Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family'', [[Susan Katz Miller]], 2013, {{ISBN|9780807013199}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171123110214/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09698a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Mixed Marriage]
*[https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8137-intermarriage/ Jewish Encyclopedia: Intermarriage]
*[http://www.interfaithfamily.com Resources for Interfaith Families] from [[Interfaithfamily.com]]
 
{{Religious pluralism}}
{{Types of marriages|state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Interfaith marriage| ]]
[[Category:Religious pluralism|Marriage]]