About this item
The claim is often made that interfaith marriages fail more often than same-faith partnerships So what are the chances of survival for the ultimate mixed marriage - one between religious and nonreligious partners Nearly percent of Americans now self-identify as nonreligious including millions who are married to religious believers Despite the differences many of these marriages succeed beautifully In this landmark book popular author and secular humanist Dale McGowan explores some of the stories of these unions whose very endurance flies in the face of conventional wisdom including his own marriage to a believing Christian Drawing on sociology psychology and real-life experience he shares negotiation tips that set the stage for harmonious relationships strategies for dealing with pressure from extended family profiles of families who have successfully blended different world views insights for helping kids make their own choices about religious identity and advice for handling holidays churchgoing baptism circumcision religious literacy and more The first book of its kind In Faith and In Doubt helps partners navigate the complexities of their situation while celebrating the extraordinary richness it affords their relationship their children and those around them.
About the Author
DALE McGOWAN, Ph. D., is a committed atheist, a devoted husband and father, and a recognized expert on raising caring, ethical children without religion. He is the author of , a collection of essays by and for loving, thoughtful nonreligious parents hailed by as "a compelling read," and , the first comprehensive resource addressing the unique challenges secular parents face. He teaches workshops to nonreligious parents throughout the United States and Canada and was named a Harvard Humanist of the Year. Dale also founded the nonprofit Foundation Beyond Belief, a charitable organization dedicated to encouraging and demonstrating acts of humanist generosity. At age 28, Dale married his true love, Becca, a Southern Baptist. They had a traditional religious wedding in a beautiful, historic Lutheran church in San Francisco, with two ministers - a Methodist friend of the family and the bride's Baptist uncle - plus an Episcopal organist. "No one would have guessed there was an atheist in the room," Dale reflects, "much less that he was the one in tux and tails. " Twenty-three years and three kids later, their marriage is, happily, still going strong. Yet, as Dale knew from the experiences of others, including close friends, many mixed-belief marriages are marked by frequent conflict and pain, and some end in divorce, caused directly by the couple's differences in worldview. Why do some secular/religious marriages succeed and others fail? Dale's fascination with that question and search for answers culminated in the book, Before finding his calling as a writer, Dale McGowan enjoyed a 15-year career as a professor of music and conductor. He holds degrees in physical anthropology and music theory from the University of California, as well as a doctorate in music composition and theory from the University of Minnesota. In addition to his books on secular parenting and mixed-belief families, he is the author of , and two works of satirical fiction, and . He makes his home near Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Becca, a second grade teacher, and their three kids.
