[norcal aephi]

I am Jewish, and have been in a relationship with a Catholic man for the last six years. There are bumps as religion is a very meaningful part of many people's lives, and it is important to respect the other person's religion as a piece of the person you love.

The truth of the matter, is that many things in the life cycle process for religions have parallels in other religions. It is a good idea to research the other person's religion, but an even better one to ask your partner about their experiences and expectations since everyone experiences their religion differently.

What we ended up doing was breaking down each life cycle event: Naming ceremony, Baptism, confirmation, bar/bat mitzvah... and every holiday that was important to us, and determining what we thought was important about it, and how we'd want to have it work in "our" family. We were able to learn a lot more about the other person through this process, and come up with ideas for our own family traditions.

Of course, this is most important when it comes to children. I realized that I could love my partner, and celebrate his holidays beside him without any emotional conflict, but when it came to teaching it to my children I really wanted clarification for what it would mean and actually look like.

Best of luck!

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me!