Thoughts About Intercultural/Interfaith Relationships

As a guy who is highly attracted to brown girls, one issue that almost invariably pops up is interfaith and intercultural relationships (since I'm a white guy).

I hate stereotyping, so what I'm going to do is talk about some of the things that I've noticed.  I don't mean these to be things that can or should be extrapolated out to people as a whole.  So if this doesn't describe you, please, feel free to let me know in the comments.

First of all, let me preface what I'm going to say with this: I'm an open minded guy.  Nominally, I'm a Christian, but it's not something that I'm deeply religious about.  I don't go to church (haven't been in almost 6 years), I don't go around talking about abortion or gays or trying to convert people.  I believe in God and Jesus and the Bible and all of that, but I'm not a "bible thumper".  I'm a white guy, yes, but I'm pretty open minded about doing things involving other cultures, trying different food, doing different celebrations, and so on.  So I have no particular problem dating a woman who is not Christian or does things differently than "normal" families do.

So if, for example, I was dating a Muslim woman who wanted me to fast with her during Ramadan and celebrate Eid with her and her family, I would have absolutely no objection.  If she wanted me to abstain from alcohol and pork products, no issue.  If I was married to her and she wanted our children raised Muslim, again, no issue.  With a caveat: as long as I was accorded the same treatment.  Meaning, if I wanted to celebrate Christmas with my family I could do so.  If she had any big objection, it's not like I would make her celebrate, just as long as I could.

So, as long as you're ok with interfaith or intercultural relationships, I am.

All of that being said, I wonder how many "brown girls" are open to intercultural or interfaith dating?  Here in the US it is really hard to say how often they are.  Obviously everyone is an individual and most people in general prefer to date someone from a similar background as themselves (in a number of ways) so I don't want to make this sound like I'm picking on any particular group of people.  Still though, I would say you're much more likely to see an East Asian-White or Hispanic-White couple than an Indian-White or Middle Eastern-White couple.  Of course, perhaps I have some selection bias.

I imagine maybe some of it has to do with family compatibility.  After all, if you got married, both families would have to be there for the wedding ceremony.  Sometimes extended relatives might be less open minded than we'd like.  It's a tough thing to balance out.

So, for all you readers out there, no matter what culture or religion you belong to, what is your opinion of intercultural or interfaith relationships?  Are you open to them?  Why or why not?  Is it because you are worried about your partner's open mindedness?  Or your own?  Or perhaps family conflicts?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below.