Interfaith marriage in Judaism

Interfaith marriage (also called mixed marriage or intermarriage) remains a controversial issue in Judaism. Before the Jewish Enlightenment and emancipation, which swept through communities in the diaspora in the 19th and 20th centuries, marriages between Jews and non-Jews were extremely uncommon. As Jews began to assimilate into the society, intermarriage became more common.

According to the National Jewish Population Survey, only 17 percent of marriages involving Jews in the United States prior to 1970 were intermarriages. From 1996-2001, 47 percent of marriages involving Jews in the United States were intermarriages. Overall, the U.S. rate of intermarriage for all married Jewish couples is 31 percent.

Interfaith marriages

There is an ongoing debate within the Jewish community about the issues that arise with interfaith marriages between a Jew and a non-Jew. All major branches of Judaism either oppose such marriages or look upon them with disfavor, but with some differences in approach.

Orthodox rabbis do not assist interfaith marriages, by, for example, officiating at such weddings. Their position is based on the biblical prohibition of intermarriage in ]

Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism do not regard the Orthodox rabbinical views as definitive or binding, stressing personal autonomy. Still, in practice, the great majority of Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis do not officiate at interfaith marriages.Fact|date=September 2007

Each stream of Judaism has different views as to who is a Jew and, thus, what constitutes an interfaith marriage. Unlike Reform Judaism, Orthodox and Conservative streams do not accept as Jewish a person whose mother is not Jewish, nor a convert whose conversion was conducted under the authority of a more liberal stream. As a consequence, the marriage of such a person to a Jew would, in the view of rabbis from the Orthodox and Conservative streams, be considered to be a mixed marriage, but not by Reform rabbis.

Occasionally, a Jew marries a non-Jew who is an ethical monotheist; one who believes in God as understood by Judaism, and rejects non-Jewish theologies. Rabbi Steven Greenberg has made the controversial proposal that in these cases the non-Jewish partner be considered a ger toshav, a biblical term for resident alien, denoting someone who is not Jewish, but who lives within the Jewish community and shares many of the accompanying responsibilities and privileges.

Some traditionalists speak metaphorically of intermarriage in the modern era as a "silent Holocaust." Some modernists, on the other hand, see interfaith marriages as a contribution to a multicultural society that enriches lives. Children from intermarriages identify as Jewish significantly less frequently than children of marriages with two Jewish partners.Fact|date=February 2007 It is said by some that as intermarriage becomes more common, children born into interfaith families become very acclimated to both Jewish and Christian traditions than those having a parent from one or the other side.

Civil and religious weddings

All streams of Judaism distinguish between a religious Jewish wedding and a secular or civil one. In many countries, including the United States, a rabbi who officiates at a wedding is held by the State to be acting both in a religious and secular (civil) capacity.

As noted above, most rabbis will not officiate at a wedding between a Jew and a non-Jew, which they regard as being against traditional Jewish law and custom. Accordingly, interfaith weddings are usually performed by independent interfaith officiants or civil officials and are recognised as civil marriages only. A number of interfaith marriage couples and families who wish to maintain their separate faith affiliations and identities have found a tolerant home within Unitarian Universalism, which claims a relatively high number of Jewish interfaith families as members. Although the UU faith was rooted in liberal Christianity, it evolved to become an inter-spiritual, interfaith denomination. Several Jewish organizations exist within the UUA community, such as Unitarian Universalists for Jewish Awareness and Jewish Voices in Unitarian Universalism, which seek to maintain and nurture a strong Jewish presence within the Association. Despite the existence of these organizations and sub-groups, the normative Jewish outlook on this phenomenon would be that the formerly Jewish individuals who affiliate with Unitarian Universalism are apostates to another faith.

See also

* Who is a Jew
* Jewish views of marriage
*"My Yiddish Momme McCoy"- a documentary about one woman's experience

External links

* [http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/145413/jewish/Intermarriage.htm Articles on Intermarriage]

* [http://www.half-jewish.org half-jewish.org]
* [http://www.targum.com/excerpts/dear_rabbi_why_can't_i_marry_her.html Dear Rabbi, Why Can't I Marry Her] - a dialogue on intermarriage

Interfaith Groups

* [http://www.InterfaithFamily.com Interfaith Family]
* [http://www.dovetailinstitute.org/ Dovetail Institute]