Divorce And Intermarried Faith Households

The issue of religious beliefs — and differences — can destabilize entire geographic regions. Small wonder, then, that such potentially divisive power can exist on the micro level, in families.

In fact, as some Pennsylvania divorce attorneys might attest, differences of opinion regarding the religious upbringing of children might even be a contributing factor to divorce. Tensions might have the potential to be even higher where one spouse is a member of an orthodox faith. That conventional wisdom is confirmed by another source, which found that divorce rates among spouses with different faiths is higher than the national norm.

Interestingly, another source claims that the mother’s faith usually wins, two to one, in intermarried faith households. However, that statistic may be changing, as both parents take on increasingly shared responsibilities for raising their children.

The parenting and visitation rights plans drafted by divorce attorneys might actually provide guidance in this issue. Instead of requiring children to choose one faith, parents might take a shared approach. Unless the faiths are completely incompatible, it may be possible to celebrate holy days and holidays in each tradition.

In fact, troubled couples might even benefit from a consultation with a divorce attorney that offers collaborative law services like mediation. While such attorneys are not marriage counselors, their expertise in mediation might illustrate how a court would approach the issue of determining the best interests of a child. A mediator often is skilled in pointing out both the strengths and flaws with each side’s positions, before proposing a middle ground.

Source: huffingtonpost.com, “Co-Parenting When Religious Considerations Are Significant,” Tara Fass, July 9, 2013