Thread: Are religious beliefs important when looking for a partner?

Originally Posted by Lucian Hodoboc

When you start dating someone with the goal of establishing a long-term relationship that might lead to marriage, how important are their religious beliefs for you? Would you date someone you liked and got along well with if they adhered to a different religion and were pretty obvious about trying to convert you? Do you think a relationship would work if the partners were believers, but belonged to different religions (e.g. Christian and Buddhist) or different denominations of the same religion (e.g. Orthodox and Protestant)?

I think that it is important to avoid freaks no matter what they believe or do not believe.

Originally Posted by DH Kirkwood

While I can be friends with a broad scope of people, I don't think I could ever be in relationship with a religious person, or someone that didn't share similar political views. I'm too passionate about both subjects for it to work. Here, people don't have to put up with me 24/7. I'm often playing Richard Dawkins and Secular Talk vids over YouTube, something that anyone living with me ends up getting subjected to. I've actually put a great deal of thought into this, and with the way I am, and what any spouse would have to put up with, I think I'd end up getting shanked in my sleep, lol.

I don't ussually have a problem with friends and acquaintances on this front, but I'm basically barred from talking about politics by some family members. As soon as someone says, 'How 'bout them Cardinals?' it's a signal for me to shut the **** up.

How 'bout them Cardinals?

Absolutely paramount. I wouldn’t even have considered dating my wife if our beliefs were not compatible. It’s not that it could not work, but it’s too much risk IMO. Far too many compatible partners to even waste time with it.

Originally Posted by Aberration

Absolutely paramount. I wouldn’t even have considered dating my wife if our beliefs were not compatible. It’s not that it could not work, but it’s too much risk IMO. Far too many compatible partners to even waste time with it.

Agreed...been there, done that...got the T-shirt to prove it...

Originally Posted by Aberration

Absolutely paramount. I wouldn’t even have considered dating my wife if our beliefs were not compatible. It’s not that it could not work, but it’s too much risk IMO. Far too many compatible partners to even waste time with it.

Meh...it depends on what type of people are involved. My wife is Baptist, I'm Lutheran - not exactly "gentile and Jew", but close enough. We don't argue about religious differences ever, and have worked out a way to expose our son to both points of view, so when he's old enough he can decide for himself. Love and mutual respect go a long way.

Thing is, you can easily get along with people who's beliefs differ, so long as both people respect each other's differences, and haven't deluded themselves into thinking they have all the answers.

Some people can do that, others cannot. I would expect that those who cannot would be a pain in the ass to deal with on any front, even if matched perfectly religiously. To me that's the bigger thing to watch out for.