Interreligious marriages growing only at modest rate StatsCan study shows

Oct. 4, 2006. 01:00 AM

MICHELE HENRY AND NICHOLAS KEUNG

STAFF REPORTERS

Many of his friends have married out of their faith, and Fehmi Kala had a hunch he would, too.

But for Kala, who heads the Canadian Interfaith Dialogue Centre, a funny thing happened on the way to the ceremony: He found true love with a fellow Muslim, someone from his own Turkish hometown.

Despite his willingness to wed someone "from a different background," Kala says life seems simpler marrying within his faith. "Now it's going to be easier to understand each other, because we share the same cultural values."

The traditional outlook embodied by Kala and his wife seems remarkably entrenched, according to a wide-ranging Statistics Canada report released yesterday.

Through two decades of rapid demographic change, the number of interfaith marriages between 1981 and 2001 crept up relatively slowly, from 15 per cent to 19 per cent of all marriages.

Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims, who made up a growing share of immigrants since 1991, are among the least likely to marry outside the faith, the study says.

Robert Campbell, an expert on religious pluralism at the University of Toronto, says that while interfaith pairings are on the rise, most people still marry within their clan. But the reason for that has little to do with faith.

"It's culture being disguised as religion," Campbell said, noting that people who are deeply religious or are recent immigrants usually keep to themselves and stick together.

"When (recent immigrants) come here they retain aspects of their cultural identity by building an enclave. One of the ways of doing that is to intermarry."

Jag Parmar, a Hindu, and Chris Lykidis, an Orthodox Greek, have defied the statistics to become part of the 2.7 million people nationwide that did tie the knot with someone outside their faith.

"When you live in an environment that constantly preaches openness and tolerance, it becomes your own way of thinking," Lykidis said, noting that his parents, who took their time accepting his decision to marry a Hindu woman, weren't as free-thinking decades ago, when they decided to wed.

"We believe in our own religion and we're not afraid to explore other ways of thinking."

Gail Allen, of the United Church of Canada, which opens its doors to all varieties of religious unions, says the percentage of interreligious marriages is likely to increase in future because there is greater social acceptance of the concept today.

"We live in a pluralistic society," she said. "I don't think the same barriers are there. There's a willingness to try and make a relationship."

Father Damian MacPherson, of the Toronto Catholic diocese, says that tolerance is partly the reason why inter-church marriages between Catholic and Protestant partners account for more than half of all mixed unions in Canada. More than 1.3 million people are in such relationships, and in 2001 they represented 9.6 per cent of all the married total.

The other reason is secularization, he says.

Campbell agrees and adds that many people today are only nominally religious. Protestants and Catholics may now see their beliefs as parts of the same whole, instead of contrary factions.

"The ability of religion to rule your life has decreased substantially," Campbell said. "People just don't care anymore."

Joe Cara, an Italian Catholic, has been married to Rosie, a Indian Muslim born in Tanzania and raised in Uganda, since 1990. The Richmond Hill couple said their faiths became secondary when they found love.

They draw attention from strangers when out in public. But that doesn't bother son Michael, 14, who says he's proud of his biracial, interfaith heritage.

"I'm half-Muslim, half-Catholic, half-Italian and half-Indian," said the Grade 9 student at St. Roberts Catholic High School. Michael speaks English and French and understands Italian and Kachi, a Pakistani language.

"But I like the variety in our lives because I can learn more from two different perspectives and expand my knowledge. It makes you a better Muslim, a better Catholic."

Still, Campbell adds, life can be difficult for those who decide to marry outside the faith.

Parmar and Lykidis have had their share of woes — she believes in Krishna, he puts his faith in Christ. Neither of their parents was excited about the union — Parmar's relatives refused to acknowledge the couple's engagement for a few months.

"It's really tricky at times, but there are a lot of common elements in most religions, so if you have respect for the other person you try to find the common elements," Lykidis said, noting he and his wife have not yet discussed how they'll address faith with their future kids.

"When that time comes, we'll expose the children to both religions and have them choose for themselves."

SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS

INDUSTRIALIZATION: THE PROCESS BY WHICH SOCIETIES ARE TRANSFORMED FROM DEPENDENCE ON AGRICULTURE AND HANDMADE PRODUCTS TO AN EMPHASIS ON MANUFACTURING AND RELATED INDUSTRIES ========è

URBANIZATION: THE PROCESS BY WHICH AN INCREASING PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION LIVES IN CITIES RATHER THAN RURAL AREAS ========è

SECULARIZATION: (A) THE BREAKDOWN OF TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS TIES OR “RELIGIOUSITY”; (B) THE PROCESS OF CHANGING FROM SPIRITUAL TO WORLDLY MATTERS (C) THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION AS A SOCIETY SLOWLY MIGRATES FROM CLOSE IDENTIFICATION WITH THE LOCAL INSTITUTIONS OF RELIGION TO A MORE CLEARLY SEPARATED RELATIONSHIP.

{{NOTE: “SECULARIZATION” IS A CONTENTIOUS TERM BECAUSE IT CAN BE CONFUSED WITH “SECULARISM,” A PHILOSOPHICAL AND POLITICAL MOVEMENT THAT PROMOTES THE IDEA THAT SOCIETY BENEFITS BY BEING LESS RELIGIOUS, WHEREAS THE OPPOSING VIEW IS THAT THE VALUES AND BELIEFS IMPLICIT IN RELIGIONS SUPPORT A MORE MORAL AND, THEREFORE, BETTER SOCIETY. AS UNDERSTOOD BY PHILOSOPHERS AND SOCIOLOGISTS, SECULARIZATION HAS MANY LEVELS OF MEANING, BOTH AS A THEORY AND A HISTORICAL PROCESS. THEORETICIANS SUCH AS KARL MARX, MAX WEBER, AND ÉMILE DURKHEIM, POSTULATED THAT THE MODERNIZATION OF SOCIETY WOULD SEE A DECLINE IN LEVELS OF RELIGIOSITY. THE STUDY OF THE PROCESS SEEKS TO DETERMINE THE MANNER IN WHICH, OR EXTENT TO WHICH RELIGIOUS CREEDS, PRACTICES AND INSTITUTIONS ARE LOSING THEIR SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE (IF AT ALL). BOTH RELY ON THE CONCEPT OF A SECULAR STATE: ONE THAT SEPARATES GOVERNMENTAL AND RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS, AND BASES ITS AUTHORITY ON MAN-MADE LAW, NOT IN RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE.}}

SOCIAL INCORPORATION CAN BE DEFINED AS A PROCESS THROUGH WHICH A SOCIAL UNIT (LIKE AN ETHNIC SUBCULTURE) IS INCLUDED IN A LARGER SOCIAL UNIT (LIKE SOCIETY) AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF IT.

SOCIOLOGICAL PROVISO: URBAN SOCIOLOGIST SEE SOCIAL INCORPORATION AS A MEASURE OF THE INDUSTRIALIZATION-URBANIZATION-SECULARIZATION PROCESS.

QUESTIONS

1) THROUGH TWO DECADES OF RAPID DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE, THE NUMBER OF INTERFAITH MARRIAGES BETWEEN 1981 AND 2001 CREPT UP FROM 15 PER CENT TO 19 PER CENT OF ALL MARRIAGES. IS THIS A LOW OR HIGH GROWTH RATE? IS A NINETEEN PERCENT INTERFAITH MARRIAGE RATE HIGH OR LOW? WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE GROWTH RATE AND PERCENTAGE OF INTERFAITH MARRIAGE?

2) MOST PEOPLE STILL MARRY WITHIN THEIR CLAN. WHY?

3) IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF INTERRELIGIOUS MARRIAGES IS LIKELY TO INCREASE IN FUTURE BECAUSE THERE IS GREATER SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE CONCEPT TODAY. WHY?

4) IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMON ELEMENTS IN MOST RELIGIONS, SO IF YOU HAVE RESPECT FOR THE OTHER PERSON YOU TRY TO FIND THE COMMON ELEMENTS. HOW CAN THIS BE PROVED OR DISPROVED?

5) CAN SECULARIZATION {THE BREAKDOWN OF TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS TIES OR “RELIGIOUSITY”} BE SEEN AS THE “CAUSE” OF THE DECLINE OF INTERFAITH MARRIAGE OR MERELY A “CONTRIBUTING FACTOR?”