Interfaith couples?

[Anonymous]

I know this is a generalization and that it's not an absolute but why are so many Jewish women so willing to give up their religion and raise their kids either "both" religions or not Jewish? I see this all the time and do not understand. I truly like to understand it.

[Anonymous]

Self hatred? Convenience?

[Anonymous]

Does this only apply to Jewish women? There are so many more interfaith couples out there....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a generalization and that it's not an absolute but why are so many Jewish women so willing to give up their religion and raise their kids either "both" religions or not Jewish? I see this all the time and do not understand. I truly like to understand it.

Are you a Jewish woman? Why do you care?

[Anonymous]

Not necessarily. I just notice it a lot when it comes to Jewish women.

[Anonymous]

Catholic woman here

Interesting--I've actually seen it more with Jewish men.

But I don't understand it either--raising kids "both religions." My best friend growing up had a Protestant mother and a Jewish father, and they celebrated both. But really, it caused a lot of turmoil in their marriage, and now my friend does not follow either religion...and actually has a lot of contempt for religion as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Judaism generally goes by the maternal bloodlines.

I assume you are not Jewish if you are asking the importance of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Judaism generally goes by the maternal bloodlines.

I assume you are not Jewish if you are asking the importance of it.

While technically they would be Jewish, that doesn't mean you would associate with it or believe it. And if you raise your kids another religion, does it matter if it's a technicality?

[Anonymous]

I've found that more Jewish men marry outside their faith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Self hatred? Convenience?

Hardly. The Jewish women I know that have married gentile men did so for love and compatibility.

[Anonymous]

Why are you seeing it as "giving up?" Maybe it's a sincere choice - or they weren't religious to begin with.

Why are you so bothered by the personal choices of others?

[Anonymous]

Well, my Jewish husband and I (Christian upbringing) are raising our children celebrating the holidays of both religions, but we're actually neither. Many American Jews are very connected to their Jewishness on a cultural level, but aren't actually religious at all (not keeping the sabbath, not kosher, don't go to synagogue, etc). That's what I've seen in my husband's extended family at least. Technically we're actually agnostic or atheist.

[Anonymous]

Because religion is fake?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, my Jewish husband and I (Christian upbringing) are raising our children celebrating the holidays of both religions, but we're actually neither. Many American Jews are very connected to their Jewishness on a cultural level, but aren't actually religious at all (not keeping the sabbath, not kosher, don't go to synagogue, etc). That's what I've seen in my husband's extended family at least. Technically we're actually agnostic or atheist.

I think there's a lot of this in America but you 'see' it more when it's an interfaith relationship. My house is strewn with Easter eggs and we went to church this morning but I'm not a believer. However since I was raised Christian nobody 'sees' my (lack of) faith. I could easily see myself having fallen in love with a Jewish man and adopting a lot of Jewish cultural traditions in my family but would have wanted to keep some Christian traditions because of the tradition / ritual of them.

[Anonymous]

I'm Jewish and DH isn't. (He was raised atheist by parents who were raised Methodist, so they celebrated the "big" Christian holidays in a secular way.)

We're raising DS Jewish. But we still celebrate Christmas in a secular way, dye Easter eggs, etc. not because we're "raising him with both," but because we respect DH's side of the family and their observances and traditions.