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NEW YORK, February 26, 2004: As religious diversity continues to grow in the United States, a young person’s decision to date or marry within their own religion has become more difficult. The article explains that according to the City University of New York’s American Religious Identification Survey the number of Muslims increased 109 percent from 1990 to 2001 and the number of Hindus has increased by 237 percent. During that same time frame, the number of Christians has only increased by 5 percent and the number of Jews in the U.S. has decreased by 13 percent. A conservative female Hindu who wishes to remain anonymous says, “Religion is my backbone, and I want whomever I marry and my kids to share that with me. If you share a religion, you share ideals and you share that faith.” Many interviewed students seem willing to date people of other religions, but when it comes to marriage the religion of the other person becomes significant. Reena Desai says, “Ideally I want to marry a Hindu. But [it is not just a matter of religion], it is also due to culture being intertwined with it. Hinduism is very cultural; it’s a way of living.” University Chaplain David O’Leary says, “If both religions can be respected, and the couple is willing to compromise, interfaith relationships often work out.” University Jewish Chaplain Rabbi Jeffrey Summit adds, “The issue is not interfaith dating. The issue is when [people] marry and build a family together, they need to think through very carefully what kinds of traditions they want to bring into that family and pass on to their children.”

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