Interfaith marriage in Christianity

"[4] Certain Christian denominations, such as the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, discourage or prohibit interfaith marriage,[5] basing this caution on passages from the Christian Bible, such as New Testament verses 2 Corinthians 6:14–15 and the Old Testament verses Deuteronomy 7:3 and Ezra 9–10.

However, it is possible to waive the requirement of form (by granting a dispensation), so that for example one ceremony performed by the minister of another denomination or a civil magistrate will be sufficient.

[13] The Council of Elvira forbade Christian parents who permitted their daughters to marry nonbelievers to receive Holy Communion, "even at the time of death".

[14] The 1954-1959 Faculties for Mixed Marriages, which are given by the Pope, allow bishops to dispense for mixed marriages, except in the cases where the non-Catholic Christian party is a Muslim because of the danger of the Catholic Christian spouse and their potential children defecting from the Church.

"[5] Though the United Methodist Church authorizes its clergy to preside at interfaith marriages, it notes that 2 Corinthians 6:14 has been interpreted "as at least an ideal if not an absolute ban on such [interfaith] marriages as an issue of scriptural faithfulness, if not as an issue of Christian survival.

"[6] At the same time, for those already in an interfaith marriage (including cases in which there is a non-Christian couple and one party converts to Christianity after marriage), the Church notes that Saint Paul "addresses persons married to unbelievers and encourages them to stay married (see 1 Corinthians 7:12–16).

If one does marry an unconverted party and trouble follows, he/she cannot blame God for his/her wrongdoing but must expect to pay the penalty, for the marriage covenant is morally binding so long as both live and, therefore, may not be dissolved at will (1 Corinthians 7:39).