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Resources for Interfaith Marriages & Families

Strengthen your interfaith relationships with these materials from the parish Interfaith Ministry.

Articles

Interchurch Marriages: How to help them Succeed
by Elizabeth Bookser Barkley, St. Anthony Messenger Press
http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0690.asp

Interchurch & Interfaith Marriage - A Window on Unity
Rev. Michael & Barb Slater, Co-Chair, National Association of InterChurch & Interfaith Families (NAIIF)
http://www.paulist.org/namerica/ecumenism_k_marriage.htm
http://www.naiifonline.org

Interfaith Marriage "Painful by Gratifying" says Convert
National Catholic Reporter
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_5_43/ai_n17154151

From the US Catholic Bishops
A) Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
• Jesus and the Jews - New Understandings (pub no. 7-011)
• When a Catholic Marries a Protestant (pub no. 7-013)
• Catholics and Muslims - Friends of Adversaries (pub no. 7-009)
• Who Can go to Holy Communion? (pub no. 7-007)
To order call 202-722-8716 or 1-800-235-8722 or www.usccbpublishing.org.

B) Committee on Marriage and the Family
http://www.usccb.org/laity/marriage/projects.shtml
http://www.foryourmarriage.org/

Books

When a Catholic Marries a Non-Catholic by Rev. Robert J. Hater

National Programs & Organizations

Marriage Encounter (Retreat program with follow up resources)
Make a good marriage great
http://www.wwme.org/

Retrouvaille
For Troubled Marriages
http://www.retrouvaille.org

The National Association of InterChurch and Interfaith Families
http://www.naiifonline.org

The Center for Marriage and Family at Creighton University
http://www.creighton.edu/MarriageandFamily/
402-280-2908

• "MARITAL SATISFACTION AND RELIGIOUS HETEROGAMY: A COMPARISON OF INTERCHURCH AND SAME-CHURCH INDIVIDUALS." 2003. Lee M. Williams and Michael G. Lawler. Journal of Family Issues 24:1070-1092. Discusses the correlation of marital satisfaction and mixed religiosity in both interchurch and same-church individuals.
• "RELIGIOUS HETEROGAMY AND RELIGIOSITY: A COMPARISON OF INTERCHURCH AND SAME-CHURCH INDIVIDUALS." (2001) Lee M. Williams and Michael G. Lawler. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40: 465-478. Compares same-church and interchurch repondents on a number of religious variables, including strength of denominational identity, church attendance, drift from church practice, and emphasis on religion in raising children. Interchurch respondents reported lower levels of religiosity than same-church respondents.
• "THE CHALLENGES AND REWARDS OF INTERCHURCH MARRIAGES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY" (2000). Lee M. Williams and Michael G. Lawler. Journal of Psychology and Christianity 19:205-218. A qualitative study was conducted to understand why couples who belong to different churches (interchurch marriages) are more at risk for marital difficulties than couples belonging to the same church. This article identifies challenges faced by couples in interchurch marriages, strategies used to address their particular challenges, and rewards they experienced as a result of their interchurch marriage.
• MINISTRY TO INTERCHURCH MARRIAGES: A NATIONAL STUDY (1999). Center for Marriage and Family, Creighton University. This national, ecumenical study explores the relationship between religion and marriage, both interchurch and same-church, and the differences and similarities between interchurch and same-church marriages. It provides an in-depth examination of religiosity, looks at the experiences of church among interchurch and same-church individuals, reports on change of religious affiliation, analyzes marital stability and satisfaction, and deals with parenting and family of origin issues. The findings offered in this study point toward strategies to help interchurch couples, and all married couples, build successful marital and religious lives.
• "CHURCH EXPERIENCE OF INTERCHURCH AND SAME-CHURCH COUPLES" (1999). Michael G. Lawler, Gail S. Risch, and Lisa A. Riley. Family Ministry 13:36-46. This article discusses findings from a national ecumenical study of same-church and interchurch marriages. An important conclusion is that individuals in interchurch and same-church relationships have different experiences of church. On average, interchurch respondents had lower scores than same-church respondents for church attendance, denominational identity, and sense of belonging to a local church. Less than half of interchurch respondents reported they were very satisfied with clergy, compared to almost two-thirds of same-church respondents. Fewer interchurch than same-church respondents who had marriage preparation found it helpful. These findings provide essential information that can assist both clergy and congregations as they minister to interchurch couples.

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