A LIBRARIAN’S ORIENTATION
What this book explores
Dale McGowan explores marriages and families in which one partner is religious and the other is not. Drawing on surveys, interviews, and practical examples, he examines respect, identity, rituals, holidays, church participation, extended family, conflict, and raising children without requiring either partner to convert or conceal conviction.
EDITORIAL NOTE
Why it’s in the Library
It gives mixed-belief couples a vocabulary beyond winning, surrendering, or pretending difference does not matter. The focus on negotiation and shared values can make a relationship feel workable without turning belief into a minor preference. Its role is practical orientation grounded in a bounded project, not a guarantee about outcomes or a universal account of religiously diverse families.
Good starting place if…
You are in a stable mixed-belief relationship and want concrete ways to negotiate ritual, parenting, family expectations, and mutual respect.
Know before you begin…
The research is limited, largely US-centered, and reflects the religious and secular categories of its publication period. Examples cannot predict an individual marriage, and practical compromise may be impossible where a partner uses religion, money, immigration status, children, or community power coercively. The book is not therapy, legal advice, or protection from family rejection.
