• Our software update is now concluded. You will need to reset your password to log in. In order to do this, you will have to click "Log in" in the top right corner and then "Forgot your password?".
  • Forum moderator applications are now open! Click here for details.
  • Welcome to PokéCommunity! Register now and join one of the best fan communities on the 'net to talk Pokémon and more! We are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.

Can a relationship survive if it involves differing religions?

18,249
Posts
10
Years
I think if you can put aside the differences, or embrace them, then it can work! It depends on the two people more than the beliefs I think.
 

Taemin

[i][b]MOVE[/i][/b]
11,204
Posts
18
Years
  • Age 36
  • USA
  • Seen Dec 10, 2023
Like I'm certain some others have already said, it really depends on the persons involved and their level of faith. I know people in stable relationships who are of different religions, and they've been together a while. I know someone who's strongly Christian and is with someone who isn't religious at all, and they just take it in stride and are fair to the other's beliefs.

Though, I also have a close friend who's family is so religious, that she ended a 6 year relationship just because her boyfriend wasn't religious and that was straining on her faith, and her family's faith. They wanted her to be with someone who was supportive, and would go to church gatherings with them. She was depressed for a while that they split, but she claimed it just couldn't work long term.

From my personal standpoint, my ex was raised Catholic, and had a lot of Catholic guilt going on and there were multiple times when I thought his family was insane for pushing such things on him. Didn't care for how religious they were, and some of their views. So IMO, it can be difficult, but if neither side is too extreme, I also believe it can work.
 

Somewhere_

i don't know where
4,494
Posts
8
Years
From experience, I dont think so. I have had family members divorce because of differing religions.

But there are others where it has worked out. Its probably hard to work things out because the central belief systems of the two partners are so different.
 
22
Posts
6
Years
  • Age 29
  • Seen Jan 29, 2019
Yes they can, but factors such as how different the beliefs (or lack thereof), or how strongly the partners prioritize their beliefs definitely influence the relationship.

For example, my parents have been married for 35 years, and they are actually from different religious backgrounds - my mom is Catholic, and my dad is Ukrainian Orthodox. However, note how their particular religions have the same core beliefs and practices; if my dad was very staunchly Jewish and my mom was from a Hindu subgrouping that emphasized that all of their deities were separate (as opposed to facets of one presence), that would be an entirely different story.

On the less religious side of things, I am a deist, and my boyfriend of five years is an atheist. While we are not religious ourselves, we do not inherently dislike religion or its role in society. Since neither of us feel too strongly about the issue, it hardly ever comes up.
 
3,419
Posts
10
Years
No I don't think so especially for us Christians, it's really not a good idea to be unequally yolked if that makes sense.

It actually makes zero sense to me. I might be stupid but please explain, specifically the "unequally yolked" bit.
 
3,419
Posts
10
Years
Christians are not supposed to be unequally yolked with unbelievers, which means we should not pair up / be in a relationship with other non Christians.
Thanks for the clarification. Is there somewhere in the Bible that says this, or is it like commonly known amongst Christian culture, or what? Sorry, again forgive my naivete regarding this type of thing, haven't really educated myself on the depths of any religion, really.
 
42
Posts
7
Years
Thanks for the clarification. Is there somewhere in the Bible that says this, or is it like commonly known amongst Christian culture, or what? Sorry, again forgive my naivete regarding this type of thing, haven't really educated myself on the depths of any religion, really.

I don't mind answering really, yes it's pretty much in the Scriptures but not all Christians adhere to it even though I honestly recommend it because I personally hate divorce.

2 Corinthians 6:14
 
102
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 28
  • Seen Aug 19, 2019
Yes, as long as both parties are willing to respect one another's beliefs. As a Christian man, I actually wouldnt mind being in a relationship with an Atheist or Muslim woman (though in the Muslim's case, if by what little I've heard of their courtship practice is anything for me to go by, she might be a little challenging for me to hook up with as a Christian)
 
10,769
Posts
14
Years
I'm gonna take this topic to mean any kind of relationship, like friendships and so on, not just romantic ones.

Because I've had friendships where religious differences caused schisms and ones where it didn't. My general takeaway is that religion will break a relationship if it a person is too strict with it. I've had several friends who were Mormon and that never got in the way of our friendships (despite my own personal feelings about the religion) until one friend, who had recently converted, decided to take it quite seriously (like you do when you're recently converted). We couldn't really talk about as many things as we used to, had less time to see one another because the church became more important, and so on. That kind of thing can happen with anything, like when people have a new baby and EVERYTHING they talk about is baby, baby, baby. But I had to end the friendship eventually because of my friend's changed views on gay people. That's where I think religion can be a dealbreaker, because it can strongly influence a person's views on a lot of different things.
 
37,467
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 34
  • Seen Jan 2, 2024
I don't think I could be together with, or even be close friends with, somebody who seriously followed a religion based on there being a god who has interacted with humanity, such as Christianity. I might be narrowminded though, and there are surely people who can accept that their partner believes in something that you really don't. So I wouldn't automatically call a relationship like that doomed (: maybe only if one is a strong atheist.
 
1,824
Posts
5
Years
  • Age 37
  • Seen Nov 4, 2018
I'm non-religious and have been close friends with a guy whose family is mega hardcore Catholic; to the point they have more pictures of Jesus on their walls than their own family.

He knows what I am and I know what he is; and we agree to disagree and don't speak of it. And yet we can be friends like anyone else.


But for an actual relationship, this is trickier. It really depends on how much stake you put into it in your life.
For example, I doubt my friend's family could accept anyone into their own family (via marriage) who didn't share the same Catholic routine.
And someone like me would want no part in joining a family like that, with my views.

But if I met a nice girl who goes to church or something, but she doesn't put much stake into it, nor cares if I'm not religious, then it should be fine.
 
Last edited:

Taemin

[i][b]MOVE[/i][/b]
11,204
Posts
18
Years
  • Age 36
  • USA
  • Seen Dec 10, 2023
I'm not religious, nor are any of my close friends, coincidentally.

However, one friend was raised very Christian, my ex was raised very Catholic, and my girlfriend's family is very Catholic also.

At times they've caused some opinions to clash, but in general I've found that if someone does care about you, they tend to put aside differences!

Though, I imagine it would cause a rift if both parties felt too strongly against the other, but if that's not the case I'm sure it works just fine for many people.
 
1,743
Posts
6
Years
I'm a Protestant Christian and I'd absolutely be open to the idea dating someone either irreligious or affiliated with another religious group as long as there was mutual respect. In fact, I've dated many irreligious guys in my past as well as Catholics so I see no issue. Love is love and if you truly love somebody, religion shouldn't matter. Furthermore, a lot of my friends are either agnostic, Ukrainian Catholic, or altogether irreligious and we've never had a problem regarding our different belief systems.

Anyways, I'm not one to openly discuss religion with others (I'm essentially non-practicing but I do have a belief in Jesus/God and pray on occasion).
 
Last edited:
Back
Top