Doesn't the Bible forbid marrying outside the faith?

[CaliLobo]

I see so many threads here about chaos caused by interfaith marriages… Believers lapsing, lapsed believers turning back, confusion on how to raise children, disagreement on birth control, arguments and anger on faith disagreements, even Protestant vasectomies…

Doesn’t the Bible say not to be yoked with unbelievers? Meaning, aren’t interfaith marriages disallowed by the Bible in the first place?

Practicing Protestants believe the Bible says so, but I don’t see as much opposition to interfaith marriage by practicing Catholics.

 

[DaveBj]

The Apostle Paul certainly had a dim view of it, as did every church father whose writings I have read, and who expressed an opinion on the subject. I’m not an apostle or a church father ( ) but I think it’s a really, really bad idea.

 

[St_Francis]

The Bible doesn’t forbid it, just says it’s a bad idea wth an analogy that worked really well before the advent of tractors!!!

 

[Kit15]

This.

If it was forbidden outright then what’s the point of those verses about unbelieving spouses sanctified by the believing spouse?

 

[frizzgrig]

Unbelievers would be those who do not believe in the triune God - usually those not baptized in a Christian denomination by the trinitarian formula.

Other than Bible passages, Canon law provides some insight.

For Roman Catholics-

The marriage between two baptized Christians is considered a valid marriage by the Catholic Church if they follow the norms of their denomination. This would include a marriage where one party is Catholic and the other is not provided the rules of Canon Law were followed (canons 1055-1165, especially 1124-1129). Canon 1124 requires the couple to obtain permission of the competent authority for a mixed marriage (one party Catholic and the other a non-Catholic Christian).

Marriage between a baptized Catholic and a non-baptized person is invalid unless a dispensation is granted (canon 1086)

It seems clear, while not expressly forbidden it requires additional preparation and work when a Catholic and non-Catholic marry.

 

[MJJean]

I see so many threads here about chaos caused by interfaith marriages… Believers lapsing, lapsed believers turning back, confusion on how to raise children, disagreement on birth control, arguments and anger on faith disagreements, even Protestant vasectomies…

Doesn’t the Bible say not to be yoked with unbelievers? Meaning, aren’t interfaith marriages disallowed by the Bible in the first place?

Practicing Protestants believe the Bible says so, but I don’t see as much opposition to interfaith marriage by practicing Catholics.

As someone said, the idea was that you shouldn’t marry a non-Christian.

I think the idea that it’s the interfaith marriages that have these problems is a bit simplistic. There are an awful lot of Catholics who marry other Catholics and have the same problems of lapsed faith and not following Church teachings on marriage, child rearing, sexually licit acts, birth control, sterilization, etc.

If a devout Catholic marries a Cafeteria Catholic or one of the spouses changes during the marriage and becomes one of the above or leaves the faith altogether you run into the same issues.

It’s even possible for a Catholic who isn’t exactly following the teachings to marry a conservative Christian of another denomination who is closer to following Church teachings than the Catholic and have those same issues cropping up.

 

[bernadettefaith]

As someone said, the idea was that you shouldn’t marry a non-Christian.

I think the idea that it’s the interfaith marriages that have these problems is a bit simplistic. There are an awful lot of Catholics who marry other Catholics and have the same problems of lapsed faith and not following Church teachings on marriage, child rearing, sexually licit acts, birth control, sterilization, etc.

If a devout Catholic marries a Cafeteria Catholic or one of the spouses changes during the marriage and becomes one of the above or leaves the faith altogether you run into the same issues.

It’s even possible for a Catholic who isn’t exactly following the teachings to marry a conservative Christian of another denomination who is closer to following Church teachings than the Catholic and have those same issues cropping up.

So true. I thought that by marrying a Catholic I’d be free of conflict on religious issues. Nope. He changed his mind on church teaching and is now a “Cafeteria Catholic.”

I know it’s anecdotal, but in our families neither of our fathers were Catholic at the time of their marriage (both of our moms were Catholic). FIL was even unbaptised. Both converted several years into the marriage and are now both practicing Catholics. Our case is the opposite - both started out as practicing Catholics but later changed.

 

[Kount_C]

I thought the church forbid it in general. I find a lack of social enviroment, where you can meet a Catholic Spouse. I feel that if the church as an institution had taken this teaching 100% serious then the fellowship enviroments would be similiar to how the LDS have their wards. . I find that many of the missing fellowship opertunitites are present because most people in the church fail to realize we have parishes in a dioces as a whole, and a individual parish is typically to small for social courting.

 

[CaliLobo]

Yeah good point. Evangelical churches have also mastered the art of creating high school, college, and young adult ministries that are conducive to creating community, creating a sense of family and belonging, and meeting a spouse that shares one’s values.

(Granted, there is a backlash to this and there is a movement to integrate young and old. And granted, this hasn’t worked for me as I’ve found women at church to be very guarded; see my thread “Does the high divorce rate among Christians undermine the credibility of what it teaches about dating and marriage?” But Evangelical and Mormon churches are running circles around Catholic churches in this area; Catholic parishes seem content with holding Mass and administering sacraments, but not creating a community for people to feel welcomed and belonged…)

 

[His_helpmeet]

Based on my reading, the Church technically forbids mixed marriages. It often becomes a significant challenge for people of two different faiths to find a “common ground” in which to raise children. The danger is that the parents will decide that the children will not be raised in any particular faith, and can decide for themselves what to believe when they grow up. Unfortunately, this usually results in the children not adhering to ANY religious faith, simply because they have not been raised with one.

That said, a dispensation can be granted to allow a Catholic to marry a non-Catholic. The Catholic party must agree to raise the children in the Catholic faith and continue to practice his/her faith. The Church provides these dispensations as a “lesser of two evils” practice - the other “evil” being that the Catholic may leave the Church altogether in order to marry the non-Catholic. In cases of a mixed marriage, additional questions are asked on the prenuptial forms and there are additional questions in the FOCCUS questionnaire specific to these situations. (In situations where the non-Catholic is adamant that he/she will not be married in a Catholic church, the Catholic may apply for a dispensation from canonical form as well.)