I had a virtual chat with a netpal a couple of days ago. Then the issue of having partners of different religions was brought up. "I'm a Christian, so I must marry another Christian." - strange, you know. And when I asked the reason, she said that she wanted someone who shares the same values. Before you have any thoughts in your mind, let me clear it for you - we're NOT dating... hehehe. We were merely discussing.
We have the right to choose our own partners, and we have the right to embrace the religion of our choice. Fine, thank you. What if you've found a great person, but you refuse to make that move due to religious differences? In addition, what if that person decides not to convert to your religion? Easy answer: "Let that person go, la. After all there are many fish in the sea. If not, then being single is also not bad anyway."
As far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't mind marrying anyone from any race as long as I get to keep my religion, and I will let her keep hers. The other thing is that I do not have to change my name or add something to it because my present name was given to me by my parents. People tend to believe that by marrying someone of the same religion, things will go smoothly as they will understand each other better. True, to a certain extent. However, marrying someone of a different religion has its benefits too. You get to learn and understand another religion, not only your own. You will also learn to tolerate other religions better. Isn't this what being a multi-racial country is all about, too? A good example is my parents - my mom is a Christian, dad a Buddhist. My brother chose to be a Christian, while I chose to be a Buddhist because we siblings have our own beliefs. Well, nothing's perfect. There have been some minor differences but nothing keeps my parents' love for each other going for close to 50 years despite that difference in faith.
If we respect each other's religion, that would be great, wouldn't it? The problem with us is that we think, or have been indoctrinated by people that our religion is better than others; some people make a mockery of other religions. This is when trouble ignites, and later turns into a full blown explosion.
I think we should all be open about having an open-religion marriage. There's no superior religion in this world because God has never taught us to think that way and all Man are equal in His eyes. The bottom line is, we all do good, be good and see good always, and life will be alright - regardless of whom you marry.
