Marital conversion
Encyclopedia
Marital conversion refers to the concept of religious conversion
upon marriage
, either as a conciliatory act, or a mandated requirement according to a particular religious belief. Endogamous
religious cultures may have certain opposition to interfaith marriage and ethnic assimilation, and may assert prohibitions
against the conversion ("marrying out") of one their own claimed adherents. Conversely, they may require the marital conversion of those who wish to marry one of their adherents.
On marriage to Jews and Christians ("People of the Book
"):
Muslim women are expressly forbidden
to marry a non-Muslim man, and conversion to another religion, considered to be apostasy
, is, according to some interpretations of Sharia
punishable by death:
Although marriage to Jews and Christians was permissible, the second caliph discouraged it completely and as a result is frowned upon because of the authority of Umar in Sunni Islam (in Shia Islam Umar is viewed as an usurper and therefore he is not authoritative to them).
. If a non-Jew wishes to become a Jew —in the sense that they practice Judaism and thus are accepted as a Jew
— they are, depending on the Jewish religious tradition, typically welcome. On the other hand, if a Jew desires to leave Judaism, they are regarded as apostates, or "assimilators
" into a non-Jewish
religion or culture. Non-Jewish cultures, tend to be regarded and portrayed as negative; being idolatrous
, or rejecting of God
(as Jews conceive God
).
Some Jewish leaders have called Jewish intermarriage a "Silent Holocaust
," particularly in 20th-21st century America
where as many as 47% of American Jews have intermarried with non-Jews in past two decades. Such cultural
and religious assimilation
is said to represent a slow destruction of the Jewish people. Others have expressed a different view, accepting or tolerating such marriages, instead focusing their attention towards the concept that the children of a Jewish parent be raised Jewish, with some sense of their identity rooted in Judaism and in Jewish culture.
, Catholics were obligated to marry only other Catholics, and marital conversion of the non-Catholic party was considered almost obligatory. However, it was permissible for a Catholic to marry a non-Catholic baptized in a manner recognized by the Catholic Church as valid (i.e., mainline Protestants such as Episcopalians or Lutherans, and Eastern Orthodox), but a dispensation had to be granted by a bishop and the non-Catholic party had to agree to raise the children as Catholics. Marriage to unbaptized persons, meaning all non-Christians and members of some Christian denominations (such as Unitarian
s or Mormon
s), was forbidden.
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
upon marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, either as a conciliatory act, or a mandated requirement according to a particular religious belief. Endogamous
Endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. A Greek Orthodox Christian endogamist, for example, would require that a marriage be only with another...
religious cultures may have certain opposition to interfaith marriage and ethnic assimilation, and may assert prohibitions
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
against the conversion ("marrying out") of one their own claimed adherents. Conversely, they may require the marital conversion of those who wish to marry one of their adherents.
Islam
Islam frowns upon marriages between Muslim men and non-Muslim women, with a provision allowing the marriage of a Muslim man to a Jewish or Christian woman (or women). This is provided that the children from that marriage be raised as "believers," a common Islamic term for Muslims. The Qur'anic verses generally quoted are:On marriage to Jews and Christians ("People of the Book
People of the Book
People of the Book is a term used to designate non-Muslim adherents to faiths which have a revealed scripture called, in Arabic, Al-Kitab . The three types of adherents to faiths that the Qur'an mentions as people of the book are the Jews, Sabians and Christians.In Islam, the Muslim scripture, the...
"):
Muslim women are expressly forbidden
Haraam
Haraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", or "sacred". In Islam it is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the word of Allah in the Qur'an or the Hadith Qudsi. Haraam is the highest status of prohibition given to anything that would result in sin when a Muslim commits it...
to marry a non-Muslim man, and conversion to another religion, considered to be apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
, is, according to some interpretations of Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
punishable by death:
Although marriage to Jews and Christians was permissible, the second caliph discouraged it completely and as a result is frowned upon because of the authority of Umar in Sunni Islam (in Shia Islam Umar is viewed as an usurper and therefore he is not authoritative to them).
Judaism
Jewish views on religious conversion due to intermarriage are largely in opposition to such marriage, even if such marriages are toleratedToleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
. If a non-Jew wishes to become a Jew —in the sense that they practice Judaism and thus are accepted as a Jew
Who is a Jew?
"Who is a Jew?" is a basic question about Jewish identity and considerations of Jewish self-identification. The question is based in ideas about Jewish personhood which themselves have cultural, religious, genealogical, and personal dimensions...
— they are, depending on the Jewish religious tradition, typically welcome. On the other hand, if a Jew desires to leave Judaism, they are regarded as apostates, or "assimilators
Jewish assimilation
Jewish assimilation refers to the cultural assimilation and social integration of Jews in their surrounding culture. Assimilation became legally possible in Europe during the Age of Enlightenment.-Background:Judaism forbids the worship of other gods...
" into a non-Jewish
Goy
is a Hebrew biblical term for "nation". By Roman times it had also acquired the meaning of "non-Jew". The latter is also its meaning in Yiddish.-In Biblical Hebrew:...
religion or culture. Non-Jewish cultures, tend to be regarded and portrayed as negative; being idolatrous
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
, or rejecting of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
(as Jews conceive God
God in Judaism
The conception of God in Judaism is strictly monotheistic. God is an absolute one indivisible incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. Jewish tradition teaches that the true aspect of God is incomprehensible and unknowable, and that it is only God's revealed aspect that...
).
Some Jewish leaders have called Jewish intermarriage a "Silent Holocaust
Silent Holocaust
The silent holocaust is a phrase that is used to refer to several unrelated events:* Abortion, among some involved in pro-life activism. One group has even named itself "Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust."...
," particularly in 20th-21st century America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where as many as 47% of American Jews have intermarried with non-Jews in past two decades. Such cultural
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
and religious assimilation
Religious assimilation
In religion, assimilation refers to the passive or active inclusion of persons or aspects of another religion as members or elements within a particular faith or belief system...
is said to represent a slow destruction of the Jewish people. Others have expressed a different view, accepting or tolerating such marriages, instead focusing their attention towards the concept that the children of a Jewish parent be raised Jewish, with some sense of their identity rooted in Judaism and in Jewish culture.
Catholicism
Historically, in the case of the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Catholics were obligated to marry only other Catholics, and marital conversion of the non-Catholic party was considered almost obligatory. However, it was permissible for a Catholic to marry a non-Catholic baptized in a manner recognized by the Catholic Church as valid (i.e., mainline Protestants such as Episcopalians or Lutherans, and Eastern Orthodox), but a dispensation had to be granted by a bishop and the non-Catholic party had to agree to raise the children as Catholics. Marriage to unbaptized persons, meaning all non-Christians and members of some Christian denominations (such as Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
s or Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
s), was forbidden.