This is such a very, very sticky situation....Originally posted by thylacine
... Anyway... speaking of religious prejudice... today in the newspaper's advice column, this guy's girlfriend dumped him because he was a Catholic. She said, "I don't want my kids being raised by a Catholic." Like, that is so awful! That sounds like, 'I don't want my kids raised by a crackhead' to me. What was she thinking? That he would glue rosaries to their little heads???
Part of this is indeed blatant religious bigotry. "I don't want my kids raised by A Catholic" makes it abundantly clear that he thinks Catholics are inferior at best.
However, I've noticed that many, many religions (not just Christianity) don't like to have their members marry someone of a different faith. Anyone besides me remember Fiddler on the Roof? When the father disowns his daughter because she wants to marry a Christian instead of a Jew? That's a scene repeated many times, with many religions. Sometimes that applies to different sects of the same faith, i.e. Catholic vs. Protestant.
The reason given is that when you've got people with radically different religions living together, something's gotta give. It's assumed that one of the two will convert to the other's belief. And if not, then any children will grow up terminally confused about their religious "identity". My mother explained it a bit more gently. She is very much Orthodox Christian, and her faith is so important to her that she would hant to share it with anyone she loves.
This is a very, VERY old view. Not "old" as in "outdated", but as in "has been followed for thousands of years, not likely to be changed any time soon". It's woefully common throughout the world. (If you think Fundlets hate the Catholics, imagine what happens in India or Pakistan when a Muslim and a Hindu fall in love.... )
Personally, I don't agree with this all-or-nothing view. I think there's room for debate and room for similarities. True, if there are children involved, you'll have to plan ahead of time what's going to happen. I think it is a lousy idea to bring a child up actively following two distincly different faiths, because it will be confusing. An adult can make a decision as to what road to follow, but a child lacks the wisdom to do so. But, by that token, if you've persevered this long against social pressure and opposition, then you'll surely be able to figure out something mutually acceptable.