Expert: Jaycie - 12/12/2008

Question
Im Catholic and my boyfriend is Jewish. We have been going out almost 9
months and its wonderful.We are both 16. Now my moms side is very
religious and i know my grandma kinda disapproves of his religion. I have
never liked anyone as much as Ive like him. I recently found out that his mom
convert before they got married . Hes been talking about the future for a
while and hes made comment before about how id convert for him, and i
mean its cute to know he really does care about me and does want to have a
future and yesterday he invited me to celebrate Hanukkah with him and his
family and he said it a couple times and I just told him im not jewish
remember and hes like i know but i want you to celebrate with me. Im really
confused and I dont know what to do if you can help me?

Answer
I don't think that religion should be that deciding factor if you want to be with someone. You are just 16 so it probably won't last forever. It would be great if it did but in most cases it doesn't. So in most realities, this isn't a life-long committment. You can celebrate with him and not be in his religion. Just be careful with how you celebrate and make sure it doesn't go against what you believe. You can still be there with him through this very meaningful time with him. He wants you there, which means he really cares about you.

You don't have to convert to be with him. If he wants you to and that's the only way you would be able to stay with him, he's not for you. But look into that before you do anything. See if he would make you convert. If he wants you to, that's different than having it as a requirement.