Can a Muslim attend Midnight Mass?

[Anonymous]

How would this work in a mosque? Don't Muslim men and women attend separately?

Yes, you are welcome in all mainstream Christian churches, OP. You will hardly stand out anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to DCUM, Christmas is an American holiday, not a Christian one. So all Americans celebrate, regardless of religion. Therefore there is no problem.

No. Americans do celebrate Santa coming down the chimney. Mass is a very religious thing and there is absolutely no santa there. It's the holiest day of the year next to Easter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My bf is christian and wants me to attend Midnight Mass with his family. I don't feel so comfortable.

Definitely welcome to attend.

There can be a lot of tension in interreligious marriages BTW. Forewarned is forearmed.

[Anonymous]

You don't need to kneel or even bow your head or anything.

Catholics are fine. Maybe a little uneducated, but not dangerous. It's the looney born again Christians you need to worry about. Especially the ones who carry guns.

[Anonymous]

If your religion is so strict that you cannot attend a service of another faith, then don't go. (But also, in that case, don't even think of marrying him because it's not fair to either of you.) If you don't observe that strictly but you're uncomfortable just because it's so different, that's understandable, but it's a hurdle you'll have to get over if you plan to stay with him. You can't expect never to participate in these activities with him or his family if he is married.

You can go to Mass and sit there politely and quietly and that will be fine. You don't have to sing, kneel, pray, or take communion. Just sit respectfully, maybe bow your head when everyone prays, but you don't have to pray yourself. I am Jewish and have been to various Christian services and funerals. This is what I do. I don't believe Jesus is G-d and I'm not going to repeat a prayer that says so. I'm not going to sing a hymn that says so. I'm not going to genuflect to the cross. Etc. But I will sit quietly, I will bow my head out of respect, I will enjoy the lovely music and sing along if it is not too religious in content, and if a prayer is offered that does not invoke Jesus -- like a general prayer for peace that just says "in G-d's name" (or something similar) then I will say "amen" with everyone else.

You have to do what you are comfortable with, and only you can know that. But if it's not outright against your religion to go, you may find it interesting on a cultural/anthropological level, and repeated exposure will likely increase your comfort zone.

[Anonymous]

OP if you cannot tolerate the thought/idea of sitting through a church service, don't date Christian guys!

[Anonymous]

It's best you don't go.

[Anonymous]

This is very interesting to me. As a raised-but-not-believing Christian, I'm only uncomfortable at Christian religious services because I feel there is an expectation that I share the beliefs. Attending services for a different religion causes me zero conflict - I don't believe, but they don't expect me to, so i am able to appreciate it as an outsider and both sides seem comfortable with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to DCUM, Christmas is an American holiday, not a Christian one. So all Americans celebrate, regardless of religion. Therefore there is no problem.

You suffer from dreadful reading comprehension issues. Where did you go to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP if you cannot tolerate the thought/idea of sitting through a church service, don't date Christian guys!

But, some people can't get enough drama...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't need to kneel or even bow your head or anything.

Catholics are fine. Maybe a little uneducated, but not dangerous. It's the looney born again Christians you need to worry about. Especially the ones who carry guns.

Another day, another DCUM moron.

[Anonymous]

We always go to Midnight Mass (now it's 8 pm mass) at St. Andrew's. We love listening to the organ music, the beautiful songs, the Hallelujah Chorus in such great acoustics.
We are all agnostics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, just don't take communion.

+1

ANYONE can attend. Your level of participation may vary. As a non-Catholic, you can not take communion. As a non-Christian, you probably won't say the prayers. I know some non-Christians who will happily sing the Christmas hymns and others who can't abide to. As with any religious or public ceremony, it would be polite to sit or stand when others do so, but you need not kneel and if you feel uncomfortable standing at the beginning, Gospel, and recessional, just sit quietly. You won't be the only person not standing. BTW, I attend a multi-racial, multi-ethnic parish and many African and South Asian immigrant women have their hair covered with headwraps or veils during Mass so you may not even stick out if you wear hijab.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your religion is so strict that you cannot attend a service of another faith, then don't go. (But also, in that case, don't even think of marrying him because it's not fair to either of you.) If you don't observe that strictly but you're uncomfortable just because it's so different, that's understandable, but it's a hurdle you'll have to get over if you plan to stay with him. You can't expect never to participate in these activities with him or his family if he is married.

You can go to Mass and sit there politely and quietly and that will be fine. You don't have to sing, kneel, pray, or take communion. Just sit respectfully, maybe bow your head when everyone prays, but you don't have to pray yourself. I am Jewish and have been to various Christian services and funerals. This is what I do. I don't believe Jesus is G-d and I'm not going to repeat a prayer that says so. I'm not going to sing a hymn that says so. I'm not going to genuflect to the cross. Etc. But I will sit quietly, I will bow my head out of respect, I will enjoy the lovely music and sing along if it is not too religious in content, and if a prayer is offered that does not invoke Jesus -- like a general prayer for peace that just says "in G-d's name" (or something similar) then I will say "amen" with everyone else.

You have to do what you are comfortable with, and only you can know that. But if it's not outright against your religion to go, you may find it interesting on a cultural/anthropological level, and repeated exposure will likely increase your comfort zone.

In OP's defense, not long ago (two generations ago for my family), Catholics were not allowed to attend the services of other religions. My grandparents intermarried in the late 1930s and my grandfather was a Protestant minister. His own Catholic wife and children never set foot in his church or heard him preach. My father lived at the intersection of three neighborhoods in his hometown: a working class Irish neighborhood, a mixed-income AA one, and a lower-MC Jewish one. My dad remembers being chased home from Catholic school by Protestant boys, overshooting his own street in his haste, and taking refuge in foyer of the Temple on the corner. He was discovered of course. The kindly old men did not usher him out until the crowd of hooligans grew bored and dispersed. He was even offered an after school job doing odd jobs at the Temple, but was in pretty mortal fear of voluntarily entering a non-Catholic house of worship on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

Your title seems to be asking is it ok for religous purposes tk attend a mass of another faith.
I'm not sure why you and your boyfriend have had religous discussions like you later share that you do, but don't know the basics of his religion or yours that this is fine.
I agree with the others that this lack of basic communication about religion needs to be corrected before you consider marriage. I understand that you say he is not practicing now but his family is, and children/marriage can change things.
I'm not sure that your current way of not talking about much to try to be respectful (or however you phrased it) is working if you need to come to an anonymous forum to ask his question.
Good luck to you both!