(Disclaimer: I am not an expert in Israeli law. If I am wrong, may I be corrected)

Here in the US, anyone calling for such a ban would be swiftly condemned and silenced by the religious right. They're argument against same-sex marriage requires that marriage as it exists be protected. Hence the "for centuries marriage between one man and one woman has been an unchanging worldwide institution" spiel.

This argument holds that anti-miscegenation laws and the like were but perversions of true marriage, the sort that now exists everywhere except in Godless communist states like Canada and Massachusetts.

Also, if they were to extend their anti-marriage biases beyond gays, they would alienate their supporters, many of whom are remarried, married to someone of another race or faith, or married to someone without their parents' permission.

Did anyone else catch cl saying this?

Are skepticism and freethought about truth-seeking? Or truth-telling? I say we should be about truth-seeking.

[emphasis mine]
What? Since when does irrational belief in god equate to "skepticism and freethought?"

Not entirely positive what it is cl's saying here, but my observation has been that attempting to muddy the waters and/or poison the well by dishonestly conflating any expression or display of confidence in ones opinions, derived from any source, for any reason, with "blind belief," seems to be a favorite tactic of theists, in particular the moderate and liberal ones.

This is coming off as an indictment of you personally, and by extension, all the other atheists here, which was not my intention in the least.

Oh, okay. No problem - sorry for the misunderstanding.

I wonder why a Muslim woman is asking an atheist for advice on this subject.

I was surprised by that as well. According to her e-mail, she sought me out because her boyfriend was an atheist, and she was looking for advice on how to talk to him about the subject without offending him or seeming disrespectful.

Are skepticism and freethought about truth-seeking? Or truth-telling? I say we should be about truth-seeking.

[emphasis mine]
What? Since when does irrational belief in god equate to "skepticism and freethought?"

I certainly hope I've never said such a thing - it's not at all what I believe. If you can find a citation, though, I'd be glad to acknowledge my error and retract those words.

Whoa, hang on. This is coming off as an indictment of you personally, and by extension, all the other atheists here, which was not my intention in the least. Y'all are OK by me, as evidenced by your comment above, and if not, I would have expressed it directly way before now, or simply not come by here at all. No retractions or acknowledgments necessary. As I read my own words again, I see clearly how you might reach that conclusion.

Make no mistake, I deplore the way that religious beliefs cause people to disagree

We do too, at least many of us, but it appears to us to be a human condition, not a specifically religious one.

While I obviously don't agree with the "unequally yoked" BS, I do think that interfaith marriages have the potential to cause a lot of strife. Better to examine the potential problem sooner rather than later so you don't wind up wasting your time or worse.

I'm also a bit confused when I conceive of this post from your perspective. I can't remember the exact words, but I think you've mentioned previously that those who believe in the supernatural are anywhere along a range from deluded, ignorant, brainwashed, or stupid. If this is the case, I would think it would be difficult for you to respect a life partner you thought of in this manner, and, of course, they would be well aware of this for obvious reasons:)

I certainly hope I've never said such a thing - it's not at all what I believe. If you can find a citation, though, I'd be glad to acknowledge my error and retract those words.

Nevertheless, I think your post holds true for those of marginal faith; those who really don't care all that much one way or the other. But for relationships where one partner is genuinely committed to the faith, there's serious issues to consider. How would you respond to your partner believing that y'all should tithe 10% of your earnings? Would you feel alienated by their attendance at Church every Sunday morning, plus perhaps a night or two during the week? What about children? The list goes on and on, and the problems accentuate as the honeymoon period recedes into the past.

Oh, I don't deny that it can be a problem. (Some of those things more than others: I wouldn't object to my partner attending church as often as she likes, for example, so long as she didn't expect me to accompany her every time [and I similarly wouldn't expect her to accompany me to an atheist book club!]. Children are more of a difficulty, though I think allowing each parent equal time to teach children about their own beliefs is a workable compromise. Again, the existence of mutual respect is the most important factor.)

Make no mistake, I deplore the way that religious beliefs cause people to disagree over matters that are entirely unverifiable, thus creating potential for conflict where it would not otherwise exist. I think those obstacles can often be overcome, if both partners are committed to doing so, although I wish those obstacles didn't exist in the first place.

But what I object to most of all is the teaching that dating outside the faith is a sin. I most strongly condemn the religious authorities who would put in place blanket prohibitions on interfaith relationships for members of their flock. The problems that can arise in such relationships are real and serious, but I think that whether the couple wants to deal with them should be their choice to make, not the decision of outsiders.