Love and Religion: An Online Discussion Group for Couples

It’s no secret that, on top of all of the usual issues that come up in relationships, interfaith couples have the extra joy/challenge of navigating additional conversations about identity, heritage, culture, religion, and more. We have many sections of articles dealing with these very topics.

These discussions can feel, at times, overwhelming; some couples choose to ignore the topics all together. In the spirit of increasing dialogue, we would like to invite couples to participate in an online discussion group. If you are dating, engaged or newly married, and interested in exploring the issue of religion in your relationship, and:

  • want to have a religious life and are unclear how to discuss this issue in your relationship;
  • want to be with other couples who are struggling with the same issues;
  • and want answers to your questions about religious life together, including:
    • Where can we find Jewish clergy to marry us?
    • Can our children be Jewish if my wife does not convert?
    • Can our children be Jewish if my wife does not convert?
    • What does a conversion require?
    • How can we respect both our religions if we decide to have Judaism as the “lead religion”?
    • How can we approach our parents to help us with these dilemmas?
    • Can our children go to Hebrew school if they are not converted at birth?

then our discussion group is for you. You do not need to find the answers to the challenges of being part of an interfaith couple alone.

For 16 years, Dr. Marion Usher has offered a four-session workshop at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center that has been a model to guide couples in openly discussing issues they face as partners from two different backgrounds. The workshop offers you a safe environment to work on creating your religious lives together. You can make Jewish choices while still respecting your partner’s religion.

InterfaithFamily.com is now pleased to pilot the Love and Religion workshop, facilitated by Dr. Usher herself, using an online video conferencing system. Love and Religion – Online meets each Wednesday for four weeks, October 20 and 27 and November 3 and 10, from 7:30 to 9:00pm eastern time. The cost is $36 per couple.

To register for the workshop and for more details, click here. I hope you will want to participate in this pioneering, pilot effort. If it is successful, we’ll offer the online discussion group many more times.

This post originally appeared on www.interfaithfamily.com and is reprinted with permission.