Should a Catholic Marry a Non-Catholic?

I married an atheist. He was looking for answers and was very curious and open minded to join me and my parents on mass as a bonding moment. The priest that married us guided us through a full year of "couple school " were he made clear what were Church teaching about marriage and rising children, and though us a lot of strategies to nurture our love looking for God. My husband was open minded to follow this teachings because it was in sync with most of his values. As our marriage advanced, he grew in curiosity about the Bible and i prayed for him. One day he just told me he needed a confession. Its been 1 year since his confirmation (was baptized when he was a baby).

Three lovely Catholic sisters got married. The first two married Catholic men, Mass on Sundays, etc. and the girls lives were hell on earth due to anger, temper tantrums and alcoholism. They suffered badly but remained true to their marriage vows. The third sister married a Protestant, who was/ is a kind,loving man. That was me! After fifty years of marriage our differences have never been a problem and I thank God daily for the wonderful ‘protestant’ I married!

Best to marry a (catholic) person striving for holiness... And you should be doing the same.. We already have enough challenges in life as it is.

My sister in law and her husband didn't have problems with it. She took communion at the Catholic Church and went to her Methodist Church. The boys were both Catholic and Methodist with no problems. When he was dying from MS we went to his Roman Catholic Church and took Communion. This was great for the family.

Thank you so much of such a enlightening answer :)

I love this video. Very helpful. The tone is focused on the loving perspective and the unity with one another. Which is what God desires and be loving to one another, regardless with backgrounds. And hopefully we'll all be united into one!

Very well said. I married a non Catholic and in the end it did not work out for all the reasons said above. Many many challenges. I did raise my children Catholic by myself. No regrets and I still teach them as some do not attend mass.

Excellent thoughtful (and very helpful) response for a Protestant currently dating a Catholic and deeply considering these matters. Thank you!

A long intentional engagement might be helpful to work out most of the tensions and challenges. It could end up blessing everyone you meet no matter their denomination. And the Catholic in the relationship will learn much of catholicism’s teachings. Marrying a non Christian could be a bigger challenge though.

What if one or both work in ministry?

The big question here is , should a believer marry a non believer . A born again Catholic marrying a born again Baptist ( just picking baptist as it is easy to spell ) is not a problem .An unbeliever marrying a believer can run into severe problems

Thank you so much for sharing this.. Today morning only I prayed to Jesus because I'm really so much confused for my Current situation and this video is so related to my current situation and watching this video helped me to understand.. All I need to do is Trust God. 💕

It may be my own wishful thinking but I do think that sometimes God brings a Catholic and non-catholic together so that the non-catholic may be converted eventuall. I wonder if there are any examples in the saints who married non-catholics and a conversion happened for the mon-catholic. I believe there are some.

What is someone Revered and their protestant spouse doesn't understand the Truth and beauty of Catholicism?

I am catholic and I married an atheist man. We are open-minded people, also being from different countries. He always accepted our kids being baptized, etc. But after 20 years of marriage he asked for a divorce. We were married in church. So now things are a bit tricky really. One never knows what can happen. Nor can you really control who you are falling in love with.

I’m a Catholic and married to a Protestant. Yes, you can have a reasonable good relationship. However, you will have disagreements but must agree to disagree. Yes, expect problems but mutual respect is needed. It will be challenging when children are a part of the relationship. I think it’s important to raise the kids in one faith rather than switching back and forth. If partners do not respect each other, I doubt it will work in the long run.

DON'T DO IT! 😱

How about a catholic and an orthodox?

Nope, simple as that

That would put a real strain on a marriage. It would depend upon the couple what would happen. It could just stay a neutral situation or it could cause complications. I would be hard pressed to be neutral about Catholic beliefs. Definitely I am NOT Catholic, not gonna happen! I was raised Pentecostal until I was about 8-9 years old when Mom and her brother became SDA. After going to SDA Church School in the Basement of the Athens OH SDA Church I went Back to public school because of family $ issues. Later I attended Columbia Union College, (SDA College) one year. There’s no doubt in my opinion that SDA is fundamentally correct. The Bible distinctly states “the seventh day is the SABBATH of the Lord your God.” Sunday has always been the first day. Sunday also happens to be the day ancient Romans worshiped the “SUN” and Catholic Headquarters are in Rome where the Pope resides. Coincidence? I think NOT!