Religion and Marriage

utopiacowboy says on Nov 16, 2004, 16:09:

It really depends on the woman. I would say most of them are just nominal Catholics and as long as you don't try to convert them, they will have no problem with it. On the other hand some of them are like my wife - her husband had to be Catholic or willing to convert.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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john says on Nov 16, 2004, 16:26:

Religion. depending on the situation:
How religious are you ( and how religious is she) should be the answer to that question!!
Would u take her away from her family and gumbaya Gumbaya... or youll be willing to sacrifice some of yours for her and vice versa.

Both religions have very similarities when it comes to family!!

John

John

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ColombianoX says on Nov 16, 2004, 16:58:

flyfair,

I'm sure there are lots of nice girls in the USA who would like to marry you.


ColombianoX

'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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mad_lion says on Nov 16, 2004, 18:36:

well...if a...... Cuban woman can leave her religion and marry a Middle eastern well-to-do man, why not a Colombiana?

I went to a wedding ceremony last year, the bride a Cuban girl, groom a Middle eastern man.....the wedding was done in traditional middle eastern outfits and beliefs.

However, the poor girls' side of the family were ready to pass out after a few hours of a long-winded ceremony with not a single Salsa song played or any latin music for that matter!

It all depends on the girl, and of course her feelings for you have to be VERY strong!


Now, let me reverse the question, would a nice Jewish girl leave her religion to marry a latin man?

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 16, 2004, 19:29:

"I'm sure there are lots of nice girls in the USA who would like to marry you." OK, name one. You ought to rename yourself "El carcelero de las Colombianas".

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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flyfair50 says on Nov 16, 2004, 19:51:

"OK, name one."

hmmm...i don't know if that really defends me or not :)

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kernow62 says on Nov 16, 2004, 20:01:

Salsa in middle-east is very popular. There is a big salsa scene in Morocco, and Lebanon, perhaps elsewhere. I have heard a couple of groups from Lebanon that were first rate. The women can move too, you might think you were in Cali!

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Colombia314159 says on Nov 16, 2004, 20:45:

Religion and Marriage Actually, there is a Jewish population in Colombia, so perhaps you could even find a partner there who is Jewish! My Colombian sister-in-law has a sister who married a Colombian Jew. I don't know the percentage though. Of course, my sister-in-law's sister was Catholic and I don't believe there was a problem in their particular situation.

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Colombia314159 says on Nov 16, 2004, 20:51:

Religion and marriage I found this site on Jewish History relating to Colombia which you may find interesting.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/columbia.html

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Lionheart says on Nov 16, 2004, 21:35:

and you have arabic dance/music in Colombia Shakira's music is strongly influenced by middle-east music and she has recorded and performed many songs with Amr Diab, one of the most famous musicians in the middle-east.

Belly-dance and salsa have common roots from when the Moores invaded Spain. Additional guitar influence came to Spain with the Roma gypsies introducing Flamenco there.

And yes, in both cultures you see the same moves .... **sigh**

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adrimm says on Nov 16, 2004, 21:43:

Depends on you too! What do you expect from your spouse? If you don't expect a conversion and can handle 2 sets of holidays then your chances are prob no different from any other. It;s all about compromise.

Of course you'd want anyone that you enter into a serious relationship with to be very aware of what might be involved. What sort of a kitchen would you keep and what about any children that come your way, all important things to consider.

So if you are asking if a woman willing to leave her nation and family would also be willing to leave her religion entirely, maybe not, but if you are asking if this woman is open to relationships with people of other faiths, prob yes.

My mom (a Col catholic) married a protestant, which from my perspective it's the practically the same, BUT not to her at the time. Never once heard her complain.

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adela says on Nov 17, 2004, 08:54:

as a Colombian woman

As a Colombian and christian woman I would say that the possibility exists but it is not welcome people who refuse the idea of accepting jesus as a Christ. I am talking from my perspective. In the other hand, there is a church named "Manantial de Vida" in Cali(christian-jewish). In that place jewish people are so welcome. Jewish are so welcome here, in Colombia. Why if you look for a jewish colombiana?
Adela

Màs fe, màs abrazos, màs besos, màs disculpas, màs visitas a nuestros amigos antiguos nos haràn màs plenos cada vez.

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ColombianoX says on Nov 17, 2004, 09:05:

"OK, name one. You ought to rename yourself "El carcelero de las Colombianas"."


utopiacowboy,

Don't you have any single sisters?



ColombianoX

'El Protector de las Colombianas'

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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gringa-colombiana says on Nov 17, 2004, 12:40:

As a Christian Colombiana women I would not marry a Jewish man. In being Christian I have accept that Jesus died on the cross for my sin and that he resurrected. I believe in the trinity which is denied by Jews. As Christian I would never put myself in a predicament to establish a relationship with a man that doesn't believe that Jesus is the messiah because that is the to my salvation. Marrying or dating a man that doesn't believe in Jesus would be a counterproductive relationship because as Christian I want to marry a man that loves the Lord more than anything. God should be the first thing in his heart and mind and not simply good deeds.

If she is truely a Christian she will not move anywhere with you because she knows the only way to God is to accept Jesus as the way of truth.

As a Christian I don't think its permissable to marry someone who is not a Christian because I would then my be giving in to maybe teaching my kids one day things that are not acurrate.

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ColombianoX says on Nov 17, 2004, 13:01:

gringa-colombiana,

Good for you, I agree 100% with everything you said!


ColombianoX

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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madman says on Nov 17, 2004, 13:13:

I think Colombians on average are more religious then Americans. Up front tell her you are Jewish and see what she thinks. I’m not Jewish and ask my girl the same question what would she do if I was Jewish and she said she didn’t know.

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isaactraveler says on Nov 17, 2004, 13:40:

i am jewish as well hi flyfair.
I thought i was the only one looking, heheh,

seriously.. i spent about 2 years actively looking for a nice jewish girl. there arent any. at my age (42) I would have to content myself with nice jewish women that are my age. if they were married, bleah. if they havent been married worse. all the ones I went out with had major baggage.

After giving it an honest run, I had to evaluate my heritage and i decided that I was more latin than i was jewish, meaning that I am not religious at all. While it was a major decision to turn my back on judaism ( in search of a non-jewish wife) I realized that I had to be honest in what I expected from a Colombiana. I will NOT force Judaism on her, and she has promised me that she is not religious and that religion will not play a factor in our relationship. I can accept that.

I love her and I miss her and want her with me forever.

To Colombianox;

The best thing that ever happened to me was that I met a colombiana. My sisters friends are latinos from everywhere, but the ones I always liked most were the ones from colombia( male or female). Our plan is to move from Houston Texas to Miami Florida within a couple years so that we can take all our vacations in Colombia. I love the country, the people and the customs, and I respect her family. I am not taking her away from Colombia. We plan to buy a home there and return as often as we can, so that our children will know both cultures (american and colombian).

FLYFAIR50, feel free to email me if you want more details on my experiences isaactraveler at yahoo.com

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 17, 2004, 15:25:

Isaactraveler, Colombianox ("El carcelero de las Colombianas") won't be happy to hear about your relationship. Another Colombiana may escape! Oh no, she may listen to Nortenas, she may eat Mexican food, God forbid, people may even mistake her for a Mexicana! She needs to stay in Colombia thinking only pure Colombian thoughts that have been certified by the Colombian thought police. If only they could be prevented from mingling with those dreaded gringos. Next thing you know they'll start intermarrying and breeding and God knows what else.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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ColombianoX says on Nov 17, 2004, 21:23:

Isaactraveler,

Hey, I think everything you said is great! I'm glad you respect our country and culture so much. I wish all (north) americans knew about the Colombia that you love so much.

utopiacowboy,

Hahaha! That's a pretty good attempt at sarcasm! I'm not as close-minded as you think. If some gringo's have found happiness with a colombiana (such as yourself), I'm happy for you, honestly. It's just when people (or websites) make it seem as if ALL colombiana's are dying for an american man because colombian men are supposedly incompetent providers that I tend to get a little defensive.

ColombianoX

ColombianoX 'Defensor de la Colombianidad'

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 17, 2004, 21:52:

Colombianox, what a wonderful response. I completely agree with you. I don't think Colombian men are any better or worse than men anywhere. Even in my wife's situation, the problem was not so much the men themselves but the scarcity of men with enough money to support a widow and three children. This is largely the result of the Colombian economic situation. I know many fine Colombian husbands and fathers and the last thing I would label them is "incompetent providers".

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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adrimm says on Nov 18, 2004, 00:01:

Interesting thread this has turned out to be Another glimmer of the diversity here.

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Roncita says on Nov 18, 2004, 08:47:

Flyfair, there are lively Jewish communities in Colombia if you're interested. The biggest is in Bogota (approx 2,200 people in 2001), the second biggest in Cali, the third in Barranquilla and the smallest in Medellin (approx 100 families - in 2001). Oh, not forgetting San Andres, which has a community of about 10! Most of them seem to be made up of mixed marriages though - because the community is so small in many cities (ie Medellin, where I live), Jews have to intermarry because there aren't enough people to go round. However, unlike in other countries (ie Britain, and I presume the US as well), intermarriage between Jews and Catholics is accepted within Colombia, (as long as the non-Jewish partner converts) because they have no real alternative.

Because the communities are small, it might be difficult to find a nice Jewish (single) colombiana, so yes, probably go for a (non-practising) Catholic girl who doesn't mind moving away and maybe bringing up her children as Jews. As far as I can see, anti-semitisim doesn't really exist in Colombia like it does in Europe (don't know about the US) - here people don't really even know what the swastika means as you sometimes see it as decorations on people's cars etc. Was a bit of a shock to me at first though!

BTW if you're interested, the Sephardi Rabbi in Bogota might be able to set you up with a date - he runs a kind of dating agency and tried to persuade me to sign up, even though the whole reason I came to Colombia in the first place was to be with my (non-practising) Catholic Paisa boyfriend! (I'm half-Jewish.)

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brad216 says on Nov 18, 2004, 10:17:

reply from a jewish gringo I am a Jewish male from Pennsylvania, USA and i have to say i am a very lucky gringo. Before getting serious with my fiance, i was worried that me being Jewish would affect our relationship. Boy was i wrong. I have spent much time in Cali and have to say that I haven't come across any negativity towards me for being a Jew. I am fortunate enough to be marrying a non-practicing Catholic who will not be converting but who is ok with raising a future family in the Jewish culture. I have to say the hardest thing for me was talking to her mom about it knowing that she is very religious. Her answer, which I have heard from many of her family members, is that she doesn't care what religion I am as all religions believe in God and she is happy that i have religious beliefs, even if different than hers. But more important to her is how I treat her daughter and how happy i make her. What i have found is that when it comes to meeting that special person, religion is not as important as how you treat your special partner and what type of person you are.

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adrimm says on Nov 18, 2004, 12:12:

Interesting Brad216 My mom (while still in Col) was proposed to by one of her BFs, who turned out to be atheist. She turned him down, her justification was similar to your mother-in-law's. She couldn't handle of him not believing in God (in some way shape or form), plus intense family dissaproval for the same reason.

How does your Fiance feel wrt to Xmas celebrations? Will she miss the commercial celebration? That's what it mostly has become these days..

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brad216 says on Nov 18, 2004, 13:48:

Adrimmcm....like most of Cali, she enjoys the holiday season and the big celebrations they have there but you are correct in that she feels the same as many people around the world...Xmas is now all about gifts with no religious meaning. We have talked about celebrating Xmas and since I am teaching her about Chanukah and it's meaning...it's only fair that i allow her to teach me about her holidays. We have just recently talked about how her family celebrates and what traditions she wants to keep when she comes to the usa (hopefully by march). Fortunately for her, i have cousins that are Catholic so we will be able to celebrate those holidays with that side of my family which will give her some comfort.

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adrimm says on Nov 20, 2004, 01:53:

Brad, Multiple celebrations Sounds like lots of fun!! Best wishes for the two of you :)

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