Interfaith Religious Marriage Paper Example

Introduction

Religious intermarriages represent a growing segment of marital relations witnessed in the United States. Interfaith marriages occurred when two people across religious divides decided to pledge troth to each other. This type of marriage remains to be religious intermarriage since no religious conversions take place and individuals in the marriage adhere to his or her religion. Interfaith marriages affect every aspect of the couple's life including their children in different ways based on the religious values and beliefs of the parents. The United States has a broad religious landscape occupied by Christians as the majority at 70.6% while Muslims are a minority at 0.9% (Pew Research, 2015). However, this difference does not reduce the rate of religious intermarriages. The rise in interfaith marriages is attributed to the increased millennial population and secularization, integration, liberalization, and ecumenism among other factors. Before the 1960s, getting married to an individual of a different religion was considered as a religious betrayal. However, currently in the United States, 39% of the marriages are interfaith marital relations (Pew Research, 2015).

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Interfaith Religious Marriage in Islam

Minimal research has been conducted on the attitudes of Muslims toward interfaith marriages. However, religion is known to govern the type of relations the Muslims engage in and their level of tolerance towards other religious beliefs. Other factors such as knowledge have the potential of suppressing religious intolerance among Muslims. According to Sadi and Basit (2013), tolerance defined by religious beliefs is determined by the level of education too. In this regard, the rise in interfaith marriages determined by spiritual tolerance aspects has a ripple effect on Christian and Muslim marriages. Different religious denominations exhibit different levels of engaging in interfaith marital relations. To exemplify, Protestants and Jews have the highest probability of participating in religious intermarriages compared to Muslims, Catholics, and Hindus. 21% of Muslims, 33% of Protestants, and 25% of Catholics engage in interfaith marriages (Pew Research, 2015). Interfaith marriages in Muslim dominated countries is considered a social taboo. However, in countries such as the United States, religious intermarriages between Muslims and other religious affiliations is significantly increasing.

Islamic principles derived from the Quran are aimed at providing basic guidelines for couples in Muslim interfaith marriages. The laid down rules that govern the union of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man is stringent compared to the principles governing the marriage of a Muslim man to a non-Muslim woman. To some extent, the Muslim women are entirely forbidden from getting married to non-Muslim men as the wedding is regarded as a taboo. As a result, the taboo issue has presented different discourses among commentators in Islam. Additionally, the pluralistic society supports arguments on the reformation of the Islamic principles governing the interfaith marriages (Leeman, 2012). It has not been an easy journey for the Muslim countries to adjust to modernization resulting in the rise of Islamic feminism. The feminists advocate for equal treatment of the Muslim women with regard to religious intermarriages and argue that the Quran does not exclude such rights too.

Ethical Dilemma

A Case of a Muslim Father's Struggle

Ali and Jersey met back in the university where Ali was a medical student and Jersey a librarian. Jersey had worked in the library for two years, a period that she witnessed many students enroll, finish campus, and leave. However, for Ali it was different, he enrolled, finished school, and left with Jersey as a wife. Ali visited the library often to get books as an excuse of meeting and talking to Jersey. Jersey, the pretty lady, did not resist the game, instead, when Ali accrued overdue fines, she called to remind him of the books politely and got rid of the charges. As a result, Ali took her for dinner where the two got to know each other better. The dinner dates led to the engagement of the two and finally to marriage after Ali completed his studies. Jersey is a Catholic while Ali is a Muslim and since Jersey did not convert to Islam, the union remained to be an interfaith marriage. Initially, it was easy for the couple to fall in love regardless of their religious beliefs which they did not think much about at that time. Ali and Jersey were content with the fact that they shared similar worldviews and most importantly strong faith in God. However, as marriage grows so does various factors including the aging of the couple. In this regard, the couple has three beautiful children who require a mother and father figure to guide them as they grow up.

Additionally, religion has a positive impact on the life of a child since it shapes his or her character, boost's the child's self-esteem and control, at the same time, reduces stress. Ali and Jersey are of the view that passing on their respective religious beliefs is a crucial part of their parenting. In this regard, it is expected that Ali's children will follow the Islamic faith since the father is the head of the family. However, Jersey who believes that Christianity, specifically Catholicism is a crucial element of her identity passes her beliefs to her three children. The three visit the church more often but have never set foot to the mosque. As a result, Ali's children will end up living as Christians and lacking any knowledge, morals, and beliefs of the Islam faith. The fact that Ali's children have completely deviated from the Islam faith has negatively affected Ali. The father is struggling to accept that his family's Islam lineage will probably end with him. Ali's effort to talk to his wife and impose the Islam faith on his children has only increased the tension in his family with options of separation and divorce. Ali is in a dilemma between struggling with his current situation with the hope that things will fall into place or filing for separation or divorce to save his Islam lineage.

Problem Identification

Ethical dilemmas are moral issues characterized by decision-making challenges where the available choices do not address the situation satisfactorily resulting in moral damage. Religious differences resulted in the ethical dilemma faced within Ali's family. Religious differences among couples have the potential of negatively impacting the lives of their children when not appropriately addressed by the two partners. Christian-Muslim marriages were less common in the past due to the binding effects on children (Malherbe, 2008). Ali and Jersey are an example of characters who have encountered an ethical dilemma resulting in several challenges due to their faith differences. If Ali stays in the marriage, he will ensure his children do not lack fatherly love an essential element in their growth and development. However, the same decision will expose him to emotional struggles and sufferings as he witnesses his children grow to lack Islam beliefs and morals.

Additionally, Ali's decision to stay will mean his family Islam lineage will end with him. Contrary, Ali's decision to file for divorce will negatively affect the children in various ways from psychologically to behavioral. These impacts are likely to narrow down on their academic performances in school. These ripple effects are devastating considering the availability of the option of marriage reinvestment. This option can rekindle the marriage; as a result, avoiding the long-term consequences of emotional suffering and actions such as divorce. On a similar note, ethics takes a personal dimension when interfaith marriages are the topic of concern. With particular reference to the union of Ali and Jersey, the family at large including the children are likely to suffer due to the religious differences. The effects of actions such as divorce will affect the children and wife at a personal level.

Objectives of Dilemma Evaluation

Interfaith marriages between a Muslim man and non-Muslim woman is allowed by Islamic laws. However, ethical dilemmas begin to crop up when the non-Muslim woman fails to convert to the Islam religion and the couple seem to encounter challenges when making religious decisions. As a result, marital conflicts arise which increase the chances of separation or divorce which are extreme effects among other ripple impacts. In this regard, the ethical dilemma case selected is aimed at assessing the different factors that are likely to result in marital conflicts in interfaith marriages. Additionally, the case will aid in the evaluation of the challenges encountered in religious intermarriages. At the same time, the introduction of the ethical dilemma presents a platform for the analysis of possible and appropriate solutions to handle the ethical decision-making challenges. The formulation of solutions will present essential guidelines that will play a significant role in saving the marriages of interfaith couples.

Dilemma's Methodology

The method adopted by this moral case deliberation entails a five-step procedure discussed as follows. Firstly, the facts of the case are identified clearly and broken down into important parts such as goal formulation. At this point, the people involved in the dilemma, and the situation facing a character in the case that leads to the dilemma are identified. Additionally, the principles related to the conundrum are accurately defined. Secondly, the conflict of the dilemma and the two mutually excluding moral imperatives is identified that present the ethical dilemma faced by the Christian/Muslim couple are identified. The issues identified in this case are social issues. The third step is crucial in the formulation of a conclusion, and it involves the identification of the dilemma's stakeholders which gives more insights into the situation. By defining the stakeholders and their needs will aid in the construction of a conclusion. In this case, a moral case deliberation project that arises due to conflicting choices of faith as a result of interfaith marriages primarily affect the children as the primary stakeholders. Fourthly, available solutions are formulated, and reasonable options are identified. In an ethical dilemma, no option can satisfactorily address the issues of the dilemma. However, there are recommendable options that can resolve the ethical dilemma better than other solutions. Lastly, an evaluation of the consequences of the recommended options will help to assess the level of effectiveness of these options. There are options that may seem appropriate from a single point of view but are ethically wrong from a different perspective.

Moral Questions and Dilemma

• Who are the main characters in the conundrum scenario, most importantly the stakeholders to the ethical dilemma?
• What are the effects of the dilemma on the stakeholders?
• What factors contribute to the dilemma scenario?
• Is the marital relation between Ali and Jersey at a critical point that requires professional intervention?
• Is it acceptable for the children to adhere to Christianity in a marriage where the father is a Muslim?
• Is it acceptable for Jersey, the mother to force a particular religion on her children?
• Is it appropriate for Ali, the father to file for separation or divorce?
• What is the available course of actions for the couple to resolve their ethical dilemma?
• Are there any scarcity factors likely to affect the best course of action for the conundrum?
• What ethical factors shape the decision-making process?

Principles for Ethical Concerns

Ethics arise due to reflections on the consequences of decisions made. Therefore, snapsho...