Can you raise children, if the mother is Catholic & the father is Jewish?

Question

What problems would exist? Please be specific, thanks!

Answer 1

yes you can no problem because usually in the Jewish religion is the mother the teaches the children the Jewish religion believes.
chin

Answer 2

Jesus was a Jew.
Peter was a Jew, and he was also the first Pope.

If done correctly, then there will not be problems. If you start early, and are honest with the kids, you can raise well adjusted children. Catholicism builds on Judaism. If you are planning on taking the kids to both Temple and Mass on a regular basis, be honest with the Rabbi and Father, and they can help you.

This doesn't mean that little Jimmy won't tell his Hebrew class that they are all going to hell for denying the divinity of Christ. When they get to be Junior High aged, they may need to decide whether they want a Bar Mitzvah or to be Confirmed (your church/temple may not do one if Jimmy has done the other), but by that time, Jimmy might be able to make up his own mind. You can probably have both a Bris and a Baptism, but once again, you will have to find open-minded Fathers and Rabbis. Honesty will be an aide for you, and you will probably find other families that have similar issues this way.

Besides, a Christian Sedar is a lovely way to spend Easter / Passover with friends and family, and YES, there IS such a thing.

Answer 3

In some Jewish denominations like the Orthodox and Conservative branches, a child is Jewish only if the mother is Jewish. In the Reform and Reconstructionist, a child is considered Jewish if either the mother or the father is Jewish. Friends of mine -- Catholic wife, Jewish (Conservative) husband have done terrific through 35+ years of marriage. Their 3 daughters were all raised Catholic but always joined in at the Jewish holidays. Unfortunately, none of the girls practice their Catholic faith -- or any faith for that matter.

Answer 4

Can you raise children if the parents have different views on a particular issue, ie religion? Of course. People do it all the time. It depends on how strongly each feels about the issue, how they compromise to set a path for the children (teach neither religion, both, only one), how big a role the issue plays in their daily life.

My friend's mother was Catholic, her father was Jewish. The children were raised protestant!

Answer 5

Yes, but problems would arise only if you both are
fundamentalist. This would be very confusing for
the children, since Jewish and Catholicism are two
of the most complex religions, with various ceremonial
rituals. Are you going to only serve kosher foods on
the table. How are you going to eat fish on Friday when
you have to be indoors by 5pm? Your worship services
are on separate days of the week. Would the father
accept the rosary? It would require a non-finatical couple
to survive. I suggest you both convert to Southern Baptist

Answer 6

Yes, if you are honest with yourself and your partner, and he is also honest both with himself and you. Marriage is always a super challenge a number of times through life. It always calls for some new adjustments or changes, but it also sometimes just takes understanding. We are as humans frequently trapped in our own perspective and do not see clearly what the other person is seeing or thinking.
To achieve a multiple perspective and be able to communicate openly with your partner or at least agree to disagree about some important things in the relationship is a big step.
But, if one of you want to dominate the other or both of you are out to dominate the other, you will have a spectacular collusion of power and control. Many couples survive that challenge also.
I have been married 31 years and we are still together and content, however, it gets real strange at times and we have to work on it and be fair to each other.
It comes down to surrendering to the needs of the marriage.
There is the spirits of the two people, the spirit of the Marrage and the Spirit of the children. All of you are Married.

Answer 7

Of course you would run into problems as to what religion to raise the children. Unless your boyfriend is Reform, you would run into huge problems with children. Which faith to raise them in? Jewish school or Catholic school? Public school? Bris or baptism? Bar/bat mitzvah or Confirmation?

A Catholic mother who packs a Jewish kids lunch must know the kosher laws, are you prepared for that?

On the Jewish (and this will be interpreted as rude, and I apologize in advance, I don't mean to hurt your feelings) but do you really want to take another Jewish man away from his already dwindling numbers and have non-Jewish children with him? As you are Catholic your children would not be considered Jewish unless you converted.

It would be so confusing to the children. Is J*sus a god, or the deciever? Should we worship him like mommy, or not, like daddy? Should we speak in English in church and pray like mommy, or speak Hebrew in synagogue and pray like daddy? (yes, there are different ways of praying)

In the end it dissolves into a debate of favoritism among the kids, as neither parent can really not want to raise her/his child one way or the other, so it ends up going like this..."well, Mommy was nicer to me today, so I think I'll end up going to her church" because the kids just can't understand. It just doesn't work. I have never met a kid who was raised in a family like that who hasn't been in an out of therapy and had one major psychological problem.

BY THE WAY, you ask great questions. I for one really appreciate your seriousness in this issue both here and in your other question.

Answer 8

are you asking about raising a child or raising a child in a mixed religious family? are we doing someone's homework/research project (for someone?)? sounds suspicious. anyway, raising a child - why anyone can do it & most everyone does. raising them in a respectful , cautious & loving way can be done regardless of religion. however, now you bring up religion. holidays would/could bring stress, marriages, customs of both often clash but then it depends on their practices. strict observances? that marriage and/or children would not be. how are the kids to be raised? another stressful situation, maybe. reformed on both counts? no problem. it is a situational thing that has to be addressed by both parties before marriage & before having the children, wouldn't you think? but then, most people don't think beyond their noses until it's too late. good luck!

Answer 9

Of course you can. The only possible problem would be choosing to raise the kids as Catholics or Jews... Not that big of a deal considering many people celebrate holidays in other religions anyway!

Answer 10

One says that Jesus (peace be upon him) is the Messiah and Lord while another says no. But, it can work out. If not, Islam wouldn't have allowed Muslim men to marry Christian or Jewish women. I dont know much about this. Try www.understanding-islam.com Maybe you'll find some answers about your question there since it is a matter related to Muslims as well.

God knows best

Peace and Love