USA, February 1, 2009 (By Dr. Dilip Amin): [HPI note: Dr. Amin uses the word “Dharmic” to refer to Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs.]
Now more and more young people are engaging in interfaith relationships leading to marriage, many times without realizing the complexities associated with their decision. This message will help Dharmic young adults make more informed decisions before committing to marry a person of the Abrahamic faiths (Christian, Jew, and Muslim).
Religious differences could bring complexities in their married life, starting with an unintended religious conversion of Dharmic and their progeny to the faith of their intended spouse. Further, divorce rates in interfaith marriages are double compared to within the same faith marriages. For these reasons, it is increasingly important for our young adults to understand potential complications before entering into a serious relationship, ideally during the years in which they still reside under their parents’ roofs.
While interfaith relationships should develop based on a mutual respect for religious diversity, sometimes major differences in fundamental beliefs pose difficulties in finding a common ground.
Dharmics carry this tolerant attitude that all faiths help you attain God, and everyone should respect not only their own religion, but other religions as well. But this tolerant attitude is not universal. (To read the rest of this excellent analysis on interfaith marriages, click on the link above.)