Expert: Rev. Robert Woods - 2/16/2010

Question
hello.. Just wanted to get some advice with my relationship with my baptist girlfriend. I'm a catholic and she is baptist.. and we've been going through a rough patch recently because of the differences in our faith.
I have been assuring her that i will respect her faith, 100%.
I will never influence her with my religion or force her to convert. I will go with her every sunday for her church services. I'll be more than willing to work things out.
So, I just wanted to ask if catholic-baptist marriages work. I really really love her with all my heart. I would like to ask for some advice on how to work on our relationship..

thanks for your time..

Answer
Blessings and thank you for your question.

Relationships are difficult even under the best of circumstances.  Not having the same faith, creates problems especially in the future.  If you have children, whose faith will they follow?  

I tell couples when I counsel with them that they need to share the same faith.  I would rather see a couple leave my church and go to one they can agree on, than for just one of them to stay.  As evangelicals or baptists, everything in our lives revolves around our faith.  We cannot separate faith from any part of our lives.  So in a relationship, not sharing the same faith creates problems everywhere.  

To answer your question, very few mixed faith relationships really work.  My advice to you is that one of you will need to join the other or you need to find a church that you are both comfortable in.  Take the time to examine what each of you "really" believe about God, Christ, the church, sin, forgiveness and salvation.  You might find that you are closer than you think or you may begin to understand why the differences are important.