Interfaith Wedding Ceremonies

Uniting traditions from different religions

I gladly serve as a wedding officiant for couples of different backgrounds.

So, let’s look at interfaith marriage and interfaith weddings. You know many people who have found the loves of their lives come from different religious, national groups, and origins. It’s probably fair to say that a very large number of weddings these days are between people of different faiths and backgrounds. We don’t need statistics here to be absolutely sure that that’s possibly true or nearly true. So, why do people marry outside of their traditions? Ummm…attraction!

Interfaith Couples

Many people no longer grow up in and affirm a particularly strong religious or cultural tradition, so they are in a significant sense “just Americans”. They go to the same schools, wear the same clothes, listen to the same music, watch the same movies, take the same exams, etc. As a famous Jewish lawyer once said in a speech to Jewish Americans, “You know why many of your kids marry out of the faith? Because they speak English!”

 

Our secular government allows any two consenting individuals to receive a license to marry, but then what? They have to find a licensed or recognized Wedding Officiant. Most wedding officiants are members of the clergy, that is, of particular denominations, or certain elected officials. I am a Reform Jewish Cantor, very liberal and humanistic in my outlook. 

 

Also, many who fall in love outside of their religious backgrounds DO aim to maintain their own religion and to either blend two faiths or make room for both traditions in their new families, and lend their religious traditions to their families. It’s not so easy for interfaith couples, and I wish them well. 

Officiating Interfaith Weddings

I gladly serve as a wedding officiant for couples of different religions, in which one member is Jewish and the other isn’t, or of faiths other than my own, or of differing faiths other than my own, or for people of no religious faith. It is an awesome opportunity to bring the warmth of my own beliefs and values to share with others, whether or not they ask or allow me to include something Jewish. I’ve “married” Catholics to Muslims, Protestants to Catholics, Christians to Hindus, etc. NO PROBLEM!

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Jewish couple getting married overlooking the Hudson River

Mixed Faith Wedding Ceremony

A mixed-faith wedding ceremony is an opportunity for the interfaith couple to combine traditions from their two (or more) backgrounds. An interfaith wedding is sure to be one that, not only the couple, but all of their family members and guests, will remember as a truly unique experience. Interfaith ceremonies can incorporate each partner's most cherished traditions in a way that suits them.


The one thing I cannot and won’t do is to invoke the name of Divine Presence by that name from another religion, such as Jesus, or Allah, though I have read Scripture from the New Testament and the Quran, as well as Taoist or Buddhist texts, in many ceremonies. Moreover, the beautiful Unity Candle presents no problem at all in my ceremonies. 

 

Most couples, even some humanists, like hearing me chant (I chant!!) the Benediction from the Bible’s Book of Numbers, Chapter 6, May the Lord Bless You and Keep You…”

I tell them: just hear it as a deep wish for goodness and happiness, expressed in religious language.

 

So, this is a window on interfaith weddings and marriages. I gladly officiate them and look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for visiting today.


Book your interfaith ceremony here.

Ready to book your mixed faith ceremony? Fill out the ceremony reservation form here.

I welcome those who wish to celebrate their union with different traditions.   Let’s connect!

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