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A review by zluke
Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family by Susan Katz Miller
5.0
I'm Catholic and my partner is exploring converting to Judaism, from previously identifying themselves as agnostic or atheist. This has brought up many questions about the future of our relationship such as how to continue to practice our faiths, how we should married and how to bring up our future children.
In looking for resources online I found many which said that you would have to pick a religion and bringing your children up in two religions wasn't possible. I knew I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable bringing my children up completely in Judaism, but my partner is keen on educating them and celebrating Jewish traditions with them in the home. Equally I would want to teach them about Catholicism and take them to Mass.
When I stumbled on this book, it seemed perfect as the author is interfaith, with both Christian and Jewish connections. Suddenly there was someone saying that other people had done what we were thinking of doing and that it had been successful.
The book itself I found to be an interesting but easy-going read. It covers many different aspects and a variety of relationships and ways of doing things. It is primarily focused on Christian-Jewish relationships, but for us this was good as it was what we were looking for.
It contains excerpts from the author's original research into interfaith families and their children, with many insightful quotes. A chapter is dedicated to some of the clergy who work with interfaith families, and I found this to be very inspiring. One of the worries I have is facing opposition from clergy and communities so reading this gave me some hope.
A lot of the book is understandably very US-centered, mainly around some of the interfaith family programs based in US cities which seem amazing. It makes me hope that we are able to find or build a similar community around us. As we're based in England there are some cultural differences, some of which are briefly alluded to in the book, but we could still empathise with and be inspired by so many of the stories. There are also some links to UK and other country resources at the end of the book,which I'm sure we will find helpful.
This book has opened my eyes to the ways in which it is possible to navigate and interfaith relationship and family. It has helped me to understand how our two faiths can coexist and how we can educate our children in both faiths. It has helped me feel more comfortable with practicing Jewish ritual in the home and has been a good introduction for encouraging me to learn more about both of our faiths.
I am sure this is a book we will be reading and going back to over the years as it's such a wonderful and inspiring resource.
In looking for resources online I found many which said that you would have to pick a religion and bringing your children up in two religions wasn't possible. I knew I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable bringing my children up completely in Judaism, but my partner is keen on educating them and celebrating Jewish traditions with them in the home. Equally I would want to teach them about Catholicism and take them to Mass.
When I stumbled on this book, it seemed perfect as the author is interfaith, with both Christian and Jewish connections. Suddenly there was someone saying that other people had done what we were thinking of doing and that it had been successful.
The book itself I found to be an interesting but easy-going read. It covers many different aspects and a variety of relationships and ways of doing things. It is primarily focused on Christian-Jewish relationships, but for us this was good as it was what we were looking for.
It contains excerpts from the author's original research into interfaith families and their children, with many insightful quotes. A chapter is dedicated to some of the clergy who work with interfaith families, and I found this to be very inspiring. One of the worries I have is facing opposition from clergy and communities so reading this gave me some hope.
A lot of the book is understandably very US-centered, mainly around some of the interfaith family programs based in US cities which seem amazing. It makes me hope that we are able to find or build a similar community around us. As we're based in England there are some cultural differences, some of which are briefly alluded to in the book, but we could still empathise with and be inspired by so many of the stories. There are also some links to UK and other country resources at the end of the book,which I'm sure we will find helpful.
This book has opened my eyes to the ways in which it is possible to navigate and interfaith relationship and family. It has helped me to understand how our two faiths can coexist and how we can educate our children in both faiths. It has helped me feel more comfortable with practicing Jewish ritual in the home and has been a good introduction for encouraging me to learn more about both of our faiths.
I am sure this is a book we will be reading and going back to over the years as it's such a wonderful and inspiring resource.