Converting To A New Religion Before Marriage

Christen Griffith, 29, of Dallas, Texas, converted from Unitarian Universalist to Roman Catholicism before her wedding two years ago. She says that meeting her husband was just part of her own search for spiritual grounding: "I had been 'searching' for years before I met my husband, and my conversion was a slow process. He was the catalyst that made my conversion a reality. Through our conversations, I was in a constant state of discovery and excitement." The Secrets To An Interfaith Relationship

There Are Also Less Good Reasons To Change
You want your fiancé to be happy so, like many girlfriends, you probably make sacrifices. But if you're converting for the wrong reasons, it can be too big a sacrifice, and there's "a likelihood," Rabbi Reuben warns, "that one's decision to convert will cause resentment that builds up over time and [results in] a rejection either of the new religion, the partner or both." Don't convert solely to make your partner happy or so you can get married, he advises.   

More from YourTango: Is This The Gay Community's Newest Threat?

Stan Charnofsky Ed.D., author of When Women Leave Men, How Men Feel, How Men Heal and a professor at California State University at Northridge, says that if you feel pressure or reluctance, or if you are likely to alienate your own family, conversion might not be for you. But if your husband strongly believes in his faith and you're not strongly attached to a particular religion and feel that his seems compelling, conversion can work quite well. I Went from Muslim to Jewish For Love