Overview

Interfaith marriage is on the rise in America, from 15% of all marriages in 1988 to 36% in 2010. This is true in every region of the country, for people at every income and educational level, and across religious traditions: evangelicals, Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Catholics, and others are increasingly marrying outside the faith. On the surface, this looks like another triumph of the American melting pot. But that is only part of the story. As Wall Street Journal veteran Naomi Schaefer Riley shows in this provocative book, interfaith marriages are often fraught with peril. People often marry at a time when they have drifted away from their religious roots, and it may seem as if the only relevant question is who will officiate at the wedding. But once couples are married, and especially after they have kids, religious questions reassert themselves. Should we donate to the church? How do we handle holidays? How will we raise the kids? Do we take them to services? Send them to religious schools? These questions, and many others, increase marital tension. Indeed, as Riley shows, interfaith couples report lower levels of marital satisfaction than same-faith couples. Yet, while an overwhelming majority of Americans claims that religion is important to them, interfaith couples rarely discuss these issues before the wedding. Indeed, many equate religion, the source of their most deeply-held values, with the skin-deep matter of race, believing it bigoted to emphasize shared religious values. As a result, they are often woefully unprepared for the challenges of interfaith marriage. Drawing on a groundbreaking new national survey of 2,500 Americans and extensive interviews with couples, religious leaders, and marriage counselors, Riley offers readers an intimate look at this sensitive topic that will shape faith and marriage in America for generations to come.

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9780199873746

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<br>''Growth in the number of inter-faith marriages in the U.S. has been a major trend in recent decades, yet few have paid it much attention.Till Faith Do Us Part redresses that oversight, exploring the meaning and implications, advantages and realistic difficulties of people of different faiths uniting in marriage. Naomi Schaefer Riley is a sociologist's journalist, and more. She takes empirical data seriously, is balanced and fair-minded, and writes superbly. I recommend this book most highly.'' <br>--Christian Smith, author of Lost in Transition: the Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood <br><p><br>''Almost half of all Americans who marry nowadays marry people not of their own faith. In this informative and well-written volume, Naomi Schaefer Riley explores this phenomenon from an inter-religious perspective. Her penetrating interviews and eye-opening statistics paint a fresh portrait of contemporary intermarriage and how it will shape America's future.'' -Jonathan D. Sarna, author of American Judaism: A History <br><p><br> Interfaith marriage became steadily common in America throughout the twentieth century, and in the twenty-first century most weddings in our country join together a husband and wife raised in different religious traditions. Nationally speaking, these marriages have eased interfaith tensions and increased religious tolerance, producing a country that is at once remarkably religious and remarkably tolerant. But in the lives of individuals the blessings of interfaith marriage are more mixed. 'Til Faith Do Us Part brilliantly highlights the rich complexities and compromises and difficult tradeoffs that intermarriage entails. It is a profoundly important book-a must-read for the growing majority of Americans living interfaith lives. <br>--Robert D. Putnam, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard University and co-author of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us<br><p><br> Having been an atheist married to a Christian, I know the turmoil that a

Riley, a former editor at The Wall Street Journal, is neither a cheerleader nor a scold. Her book functions more as a flashing yellow light at an intersection: slow down, be alert--pay attention to what serious differences may mean to a close relationship. She brings a careful, nuanced and thoughtful approach to an often contentious subject. And she adds considerable value by including results of a poll she commissioned to survey 2,450 Americans on the subject of interfaith marriage. --Gustav Niebuhr, The book is chock-full of fascinating statistics ('Jews are the most likely and Mormons are the least likely to marry members of other faiths'), but at its heart is a cautionary thesis: the growing number of interfaith couples don't know what they're getting into... --Stanley Fish, The New York Times Engaging and incisive account--combining clear-eyed analysis with polling data and the details of more than a hundred interviews... --W. Bradford Wilcox, The Wall Street Journal Naomi Schaefer Riley's well-researched and exceedingly well-written book...is a great gift to clergy and an even greater challenge to them. It ought to be required reading for anyone who attempts interfaith matrimony, and it's a crucial resource for anyone seeking to minister to those who contemplate or practice interfaith marriage. --William H. Willimon, Riley's book is a very readable blend of survey data (she commissioned a nationwide Interfaith Marriage Survey with the help of the University of Notre Dame's David Campbell) and anecdotes. --John Turner, Patheos''Growth in the number of inter-faith marriages in the U.S. has been a major trend in recent decades, yet few have paid it much attention.Til Faith Do Us Part redresses that oversight, exploring the meaning and implications, advantages and realistic difficulties of people of different faiths uniting in marriage. Naomi Schaefer Riley is a sociologist's journalist, and more.

<br> Riley, a former editor at The Wall Street Journal, is neither a cheerleader nor a scold. Her book functions more as a flashing yellow light at an intersection: slow down, be alert--pay attention to what serious differences may mean to a close relationship. She brings a careful, nuanced and thoughtful approach to an often contentious subject. And she adds considerable value by including results of a poll she commissioned to survey 2,450 Americans on the subject of interfaith marriage. --Gustav Niebuhr, <p><br> The book is chock-full of fascinating statistics ('Jews are the most likely and Mormons are the least likely to marry members of other faiths'), but at its heart is a cautionary thesis: the growing number of interfaith couples don't know what they're getting into... <br>--Stanley Fish, The New York Times<br><p><br> Engaging and incisive account--combining clear-eyed analysis with polling data and the details of more than a hundred interviews... --W. Bradford Wilcox, The Wall Street Journal<p><br> Naomi Schaefer Riley's well-researched and exceedingly well-written book...is a great <br>gift to clergy and an even greater challenge to them. It ought to be required reading for anyone who attempts interfaith matrimony, and it's a crucial resource for anyone seeking to minister to those who contemplate or practice interfaith marriage. <br>--William H. Willimon, <p><br> Riley's book is a very readable blend of survey data (she commissioned a nationwide Interfaith Marriage Survey with the help of the University of Notre Dame's David Campbell) and anecdotes. --John Turner, Patheos<br><p><br>''Growth in the number of inter-faith marriages in the U.S. has been a major trend in recent decades, yet few have paid it much attention.Til Faith Do Us Part redresses that oversight, exploring the meaning and implications, advantages and realistic difficulties of people of different faiths uniting in marriage. Naomi Schaefer Riley is a sociologist's journalist, and more.

Author Information

Naomi Schaefer Riley is a former Wall Street Journal editor and writer whose work focuses on higher education, religion, philanthropy and culture.

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