Chris Liu

ESL 33B
04/20/2015

Making impossible possible

Religion, is a collection of beliefs, special cultures and different views from
people don't have a religion. It is the faith people believe in kinds of god who they
think he can give them power, benefit, authority, freedom, and etc. There are many
different religion since long ago. People put themselves with life in a religion and will
never ever trust the people in another religion because they simply believe in different
gods. The relationship between most religious people and non-believers are kind of
fine because most religious people think belief is free. However, relationship between
different religious people is hard to define. They will always argue, even fight for
their own religion just because they love their god and cannot accept other gods even
if their belief should be free. In this world, what binding people most tight is
marriage. Is that possible that people can marry another person with different
religion? The answer in most religious people is no. However, it is possible and it is
not too hard as people thought of.
Marriage is simply would live together for the rest of people life and form a
family. Marriage is a very strong bind of people, but also week by issues. In old days
when religions were so strong in people's mind, interfaith marriage was totally
impossible because it was against "law", the "law" in each different religion. Marrying
a person with a different religion was evil in religious people's mind, it was kind of
betray their gods and trying to accept different gods. Their marriages were not blessed
by their own gods and would be abandoned by people who had been believing the
same god with them. It seems a hard decision to marry the person with different
religion from themselves, even non-believers were on the list of cannot marry. Even if

successful marriage happened between interreligious people, they would have lots of
troubles, and those troubles cannot be removed forever since couples already chose a
faith to believe in forever before they date.(Dixie Dillon, Naomi 1, Samuel) Those
troubles will lead to divorce, betrayal, or even larger problems such as violence. Also,
since there were so many different religions, each religion has their own rule of
marriage, and some religion such as Protestant does not believe in marriage.(Samuel)
Since religious people focus on their beliefs more, races is not important as nonbelievers do any more.( Samuel, Emilie) Religious people only should marry the one
with the same faith with them. People think the society will not accept people with
different religion would marry, because "gods are holy and gods gave people life so
that people cannot betray their own god".(Timothy) Non-believer will think people
with a religion are all fools because they are believing in invisible "gods" or spirit that
are non-sense to most of people. Science cannot even prove that gods are exist.
religious people are lying to themselves.(Timothy) Religion became a unbreakable
boundary between people, so that marriage between people are seems impossible.
However, the "impossible" only appear in the mind of people who never tried
interfaith marriage.
Since people are believing interfaith marriage would destroy religions or different
faith would never lead to a marriage, interfaith marriage seems as a disaster among
most of people, but not all. Interfaith is a challenge for love, for the relationship. (Bill,
Mark) Who ever succeed in interfaith marriage, their bind will be even stronger than
normal couples because they will go through much more and much harder problems
than normal couples.(Bill) Also, people with interfaith marriage are not happier than
normal couple also because those so many problems. People would think much more
before they marry but not before they date. Dating sometime is being impetuous that

they want to spend time together, even life. When couples are about to think about
marriage, problems come. Spend life together is hard thing, couples would have
suitable habits, interest, views, and even value. So many things couples considers and
eventually everything will be fine. Finally, if they are religious people, same religions
is fine but different religion, will always deny their marriage because faith is what
people keep running in their life and cannot abandon. Interfaith again seems
impossible.( Dixie Dillon) Is religion so much real in people's mind? Should religion
became a boundary between true love? Is religion a "rule" that people cannot get over
with? The answer is no, always no, since everything is possible, and everything will
be fixed, there will be a correct way to get though religions.
Since the public opinions became the first layer of impossible interfaith marry,
the second layer came with being thoughtful before marriage. Those layers keep
people away from marry a person with different religion, or even religious people
would not marry a non-believer. Again, people put life in religion, religion is the most
important thing for most of religious people. However, some people just "break" the
layers, and became the most happy family with interfaith marriage. For real, there are
large percentage in the world that people have interfaith marriage and they are
successfully break the boundary.( Emilie, Naomi 1 2) People made the impossible
became possible. It is amazing thing that people could accept different religion since
religion is very important. People with different religion will respect each other more
than normal couples, because the religion come between them so that they need, or
even have to respect each other's religion in order to life together.(Bill, Naomi 1,
Emile) Also, within the respect, religions still a problems between the couples and the
problems are always leading to an end of the marriage. Different culture, different
world view, different worship, different beliefs. When religion come to love, all they

do is walk through the problem properly and respect.(Bill) Those problems will never
be solved because the view, values came from religion but not themselves, it will keep
between couples forever. Some people just will not accept the problems growing and
it is why interfaith marriage is harsh for couples. Different religion bring so much
problems to test couples. When couples are successful went through the problems,
their bind will not be stronger but even weaker, because they cannot solve it.
Furthermore, in a interfaith marriage, family also became the big problem for them.
Most parents, if they also have religion, will not accept their children to marry a
different religious person(Dixie Dillon); however, it is solvable, just like they can
accept to marry each other. Life choice is by the couples not always work with
parents' views.(Bill, Naomi 1) Parents will eventually bless couples by their own
religion, or their own way. Later when the couples have children, will religion become
a problem again? As which religion they choose to give the baby? It never become a
problem again! Couples with interfaith marriage will not ever teach their children any
religion thing.(Bill, Naomi 1 2, Emilie) Their children will choose as they grow up.
Interfaith couples made a smart decision on children's problem. Finally, religion is
still a problem between couples since it is so important. Interfaith marriage is not
happier than normal marriage and have a higher rate to divorce or gone worse in later
life.(Naomi 1,2)
Interfaith marriage is the best choice and the worst. Couples are not abundant
their religion; however, they choose to respect each others' religion, and they think
their holy religion should not be a "rule" that stop people from marry each other. They
got over the problem of religion and finally come together. Then the worst is
problems become more and are growing worse in their later life, and most of the time
those problems cannot be solved because those are from religion, the holy god. Also,

there will be so many difficult decision, choice to make. In southland, Frank and
Alma had so many problems that finally break their relationship, even if religion was
include in a little part but it was still a problem that they could not get over with.
Religion actually is also a bind that binding people together tightly, and it is not
weaker than marriage. However, when those come together, it is like a fighting
between "bind". Someday, it will come together and become a much more stronger
bind that never separate people who are in it. Even if, they are interreligious.

Work Cited
Liao, Timothy. Personal interview. 10 April, 2015.
Scheafer Riley, Naomi."Interfaith, Interracial."First Things: A Monthly Journal
Of Religion and Public Life 247(2014): 21-23. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 6 Apr. 2015
Perry, Samuel L. "Hoping For A Godly (White) Family: How Desire For
Religious Heritage Affects Whites' Attitudes Toward Interracial Marriage."
Journal For The Scientific Study Of Religion 53.1 (2014): 202-218.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Apr. 2015.
Lane, Dixie Dillon. "Protecting The Family In The West: James Henry
Martineau's Response To Interfaith Marriage." Journal Of Mormon History
36.4 (2010): 1-17. America: History and Life with Full Text. Web. 6 Apr.
2015.
Dodds, Bill. "We're Making Our Interfaith Marriage Work.". (Cover Story)."

CatholicDigest 74.1 (2009): 42. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.

Regnerus, Mark, Russell Moore, and Naomi Riley. "Is Interfaith Marriage
Always Wrong, Given That the Bible Teaches Us Not to Be 'Unequally
Yoked'?" Christianity Today 10 July 2013. Print.
Lemmons, Emilie. "Interfaith Marriages." For Your Marriage. Church Teaching.
Web.
Riley, Naomi. "Seven Things You Don't Know about Interfaith Marriage." Fox
News.19 Apr. 2013. Web.