Interfaith Marriages Experiences Well-Being

Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan
C O L L E G E O F Apresents
RTS AND SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
BOOK OF ABSTRACT SY 2016-2017
Interfaith Marriages: Experiences, Well-Being, and Marital Satisfaction of Couples with

Different Religions
Authors: Abcede, Eloisa Mae G., Alonto, Sittie Nur-Ahlia G., Arandil, Camille C.,
Jayson, Shari Angelee D. & Mama, Sittie Aisah M.
Adviser: Jason Manaois, RPm, MA
Subject: Psy 54 – Research in Psychology II
Abstract:
The idea of interfaith marriage connotes a marriage between individuals amid

different religions which entails two spouses who follow a different religious tradition in
contrast to his or her partner (Riley, 2013). The purpose of the study is to uncover the
experiences, perceived psychological well-being, and perceived marital satisfaction of
couples from interfaith marriages. The study interviewed five couples engaged in an
interfaith marriage via one-on-one in-depth interview who were identified through
snowball sampling. Thematic analysis was also utilized for the data analysis. As a
result, the researchers came up with eight major themes which were extracted from the
data given by the participants of the study, that is to say: Honouring One’s In-Laws,
Marital Conflicts, Marital Conflict Resolution, Children’s Religious Formation, Perceived
Sense of Happiness, Factors Affecting Psychological Well-Being, Sense of Optimism
and Factors Affecting Marital Satisfaction. Based on the data gathered by the
researchers, the diverse religious heritage of married interfaith couples does not
profoundly influence their marriage as the participants generally perceived their
marriage as a blissful one despite their different religious perspectives. In conclusion,
the researchers claim that even with the consequences of interfaith marriages, interfaith
couples are individually more open and diverse especially with regards to their religious
faith and beliefs as they are able to observe, appreciate and respect their spouse’s
religion.
Keywords: interfaith marriages, experiences, well-being, marital satisfaction
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Interfaith Marriages and Psychological Outcomes
The Problem and Review of Literature
A married couple may have numerous dissimilarities that entail them the need for a
greater understanding of each other’s differences. There can be times where couples may have
varying experiences which may affect satisfaction and well-being. Consequently, the idea of
interfaith marriage connotes a marriage between individuals amid different religions (Riley,
2013). An interfaith marriage is blessed with consecration as well as challenges (Gaille, 2014).
Common occasions just like Easter Sunday, Christmas, and Hanukkah are celebrated, but with
different faiths coming given that celebrating together may cause discomfort and uneasiness for
both sides. Sometimes, the risk of separation intensifies for interfaith marriage when one attends
religious services frequently or when the other half has a more conservative religious attitude.
Accordingly, what could the stories of couples from different religions be? How do they deal
with such idea provided that interfaith marriage can be really challenging?
Cila and Lalonde (2013) explored the personal openness of 234 young adults towards
interfaith marriage. The results showed that participants would rather date than marry someone
of a different religion. In addition, participants with “strong religious fundamentalism and
religious identification” were not much open with the idea of interfaith marriage. But does
religion really influence marriage? A study aimed to explore how and why religion affects
marriage. In the study, seventy-six couples engaged in an interfaith marriage were studied and
through qualitative data analysis, “eight themes were identified that links religion and marriage;
(1) influence of clergy; the positive and negative references of clergy may affect one’s belief
and faith in one's religion (2) mixed blessing of faith community and involvement; a person’s
efforts to be involved and to serve his religion can be both a blessing and a challenge to the
individuals and to their marriage (3) importance of prayer; prayer influences marriage through
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considering the connection with God as a sense of care for the family and a valuable tool for
conflict resolution (4) influence of family ritual; religious practices and marriage were directly
linked as it showed that it can be a source of anguish when a member of the family, married a
different faith from the faith of the parents (5) practicing marital fidelity; an individual’s
religious faith and belief can also be expressed through his or her avoidance of behaviors such as
extramarital affairs that are not congruent with his or her apparent beliefs (6) pro-marriage/anti-
divorce beliefs; one’s marital and family attitudes such as giving importance on marriage and a
strong aversion to divorce can be identified through the individual’s faith involvement (7)
homogamy of religious beliefs; the importance of a couple having shared beliefs can positively
affect the marriage (8) faith in God as marital support; a couples’ belief regarding a stable
marriage was connected to their faith and support from the Divine Being” (Marks, 2005). As a
result, one can say that religion can be considered as one of the factors that may influence
marriage.
Meanwhile, Philippines remains to be considered as a religiously diverse country. It is
mostly dominated by Christianity but it also practices different religious denominations. Religion
in the Philippines is more than an abstract belief system as it bonds different people of various
natures (Study Country, 2016). With such diversification, an increasing number of interfaith
marriages may come into view (Campbell & Putnam, 2011). However, delving into the influence
of religious belief in the perspective of marriage and family is an intricate venture (Christiano,
2000; Dollahite, Marks, & Goodman, 2004; Mahoney, Pargament, Tarakeshwar, & Swank,
2001). As a result, this research specifically addresses interfaith marriages in relation to the
couples’ marital satisfaction, experiences, and well-being.
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Nevertheless, marrying someone from a different religion remains to be really rare
nowadays, particularly in the Philippines (Riley, 2013). The country continues to hold a few
types of research regarding interfaith marriage among Filipinos. This is due to the fact that
Filipinos are more into intercultural marriage rather than interfaith ones. The Foreign Marriage
Statistics on 2004 said that among the 6, 387 marriages registered abroad, 72.9% of these
marriages have a Filipino partner (Foreign Marriage Statistics, 2004). The phenomenon of the
larger number of intercultural marriage that is widely happening compared to the interfaith ones
is due to the fact that many white people are interested in various Asian cultures and the
application of such interest happens when they meet Asians (Gaille, 2014). Nowadays, the
practice of interracial relationships is very common among Filipinos in America and this number
still continues to grow as of 2010 (Le, 2016). With regards to interfaith marriage among Asians,
a 2008 Pew Research survey found out that among the 257 Hindus families in America, only
10% of them marry outside of their faith. In the history of India, interfaith marriage is considered
to be quite uncommon, however, it was only limited to the Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. This is
because Muslims and Christians have a fundamental difference between their practice on the
Dharmic and Abrahamic beliefs (Admin, 2009).
However, interfaith marriage may come with a heavy price and some couples may end up
divorced. Interfaith married individuals tend to lessen the strength of their religious communities
and are more likely to be unhappy compared to those of the same faith ones. Results demonstrate
that 33% of the couples who are Christians, Catholics, and Mormons fall into this category
(Elias, 2015). Meanwhile, 61% of the Evangelicals find themselves divorced with their spouse
who is not religiously affiliated whereas a Christian married to a Jew experiences a divorce rate
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up to 40%. And so far, there is the least rate of Mormons engaging into divorce since most of
them have the highest probability of converting their spouses to their same faith (Riley, 2015).
All the same, many faith religious leaders may not agree with the notion of interfaith
marriage as almost all of them consider it as a bad idea. This is because they have observed that
interfaith marriage results in the lessening of people’s attendance in the church. Despite this
notion carried by religious leaders, 80% of couples who are into interfaith marriages believed
that having similar values is more likely important in fostering a long-lasting relationship rather
than having the same faith (Gaille 2014). In looking at this perspective, such type of marriage
lessens the gap between families from various backgrounds and different identities. According to
a study conducted by Robert Putnam from Harvard University on 2002, there is a high tendency
for the Americans to like other people if they come to know their faith.
Challenges in Marriages among Interfaith Couples
Marriage may be seen as one type of a passionate relationship. The value of relationship
in marriage is constantly redefined by both spouses who are then crucial in their entire family life
experience. However, there are many things that could weaken a marriage. Trials or challenges
confronted by married individuals are frequent arguing and separating when they are both
emotional, nevertheless, when contentment falloffs in their relationship, divorce may be an
option eventually. With this, the concept of the marital environment was used in the study
concerning the effects of marital conflict and the marital environment in change (Hamilton,
2013). The marital environment is a combination of perceived equality of household chores and
perceived fairness of outlaying money. Since conflict is inevitable, these variables if not
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confronted with appropriate solutions, may cause arguments and challenges to arise in keeping
the relationship intimate and healthy.
In relation with the marital environment, Dollahite and Marks (2009) stated that there is a
connection between religious context and outcomes of marriage. Couples from different religions
reported that religiosity affects conflicts in one’s marriage at three phases of the conflict process:
(a) problem prevention, (b) conflict resolution, and (c) relationship reconciliation (Dollahite &
Marks, 2009). Inevitably, interfaith couples may have a conflict over religion as well as other
marital issues. This will happen if a spouse is caught unprepared or unsure on how to manage
conflicts or issues with his or her relationship. Hence, if interfaith couples are not ready in facing
their marital problems, maintaining communal respect, concern, and care for each other might be
difficult.
Furthermore, in the same study, both of their female and male respondents viewed doing
household chores and laying off of money unfairly, if one has an exemption, as factors reflected
in their results. Thus, these variables have a positive direct effect on sources of conflict. In
addition, the main influence for the marital environment is the sources of conflict and its
frequency. Sources of conflicts as reflected in their study are disagreements on household task,
money, spending time together, sex, and physical harm such as hitting or throwing things.
Therefore, an increase of frequency for these sources of conflict will develop bad feelings if not
resolved constructively. Hence, if a couple is satisfied with his or her marital environment,
conflicts like frequent disagreements about household tasks, laying off of money, spending time
together, and sex will less likely to occur.
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Religion and Effects on Psychological Well-Being
The relationship between religious beliefs and psychological well-being has been
continually studied by Psychologists in the past years. The psychology of health signifies the
connection between religiosity and psychological well-being which may contribute an important
influence on an individual. Furthermore, practicing one’s religion such as praying has a
significant effect in the life satisfaction and in the overall sense of one’s personal well-being.
Also, it has been widely accepted that religious beliefs can form an individual’s psychological
perception of pain or disability as it creates a mindset that enables a person to relax and may
allow healing on its own (Joshi, Kumari & Jain, 2008).
Perez (2012) existentially defined psychological well-being and emphasized that good
life is not being free from pain and problems. This is due to the fact that one has to live and strive
in spite of any difficulties. Hence, there is a sense of optimism to an individual which is also a
predictor of psychological well-being. According to Perez (2012), the spiritual factor or a
person’s religious beliefs is a deemed important component in the explanation of psychological
well-being, especially among Filipinos. In addition, Mishra (2012) greatly emphasized that
optimism is positively associated with life satisfaction, positive physical and mental health, and
even self-esteem and positive emotion. All the same, being optimistic is said to be an important
factor to the overall sense of an individual’s psychological well-being.
Religion and Effects on Marital Satisfaction
Ahmadi studied the relationship between marital satisfaction and religiosity among
remarried and firstly married individuals. The results showed that religiosity and sexual
satisfaction had a significant positive correlation with one another. In Islam, it is stressed that too
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much importance was given to strong and happy marriages. As mentioned in the Holy Qur’an of
the Muslims, marriage must be based on equality, friendship, and the love of the couple.
Therefore, those who are faithful to Islamic values are expected to have more adjustability to
their marriage given that a happy life is one of the main pillars for religiosity. Roman Catholics
were also studied and results demonstrate that religious belief helps to control the expression of
anger and may prevent the desire to react. This is in line with one of the fundamental beliefs of
Christianity, ‘God is Love” (Reuben, 1985). The commandments of God, love among Christians,
and the value of romantic relationship were influenced by the Bible (Young & Adams, 2005).
In addition to the Christians, some characteristics of marriage quality (e.g. marital
satisfaction) are shown through praying together and considering the holiness of marriage which
is predicted by religious events (Mahoney et al., 1999). Meanwhile, Hatch, James, and Schumm
(1986) studied about the interaction of marital satisfaction and spiritual intimacy. The results
showed that emotional intimacy and marital satisfaction is significantly correlated with spiritual
intimacy. This implies that spiritual intimacy did not have a direct effect on marital satisfaction
but has an indirect effect via emotional intimacy. The need for emotional intimacy in marriage is
a primary reason why individuals stay committed in a romantic relationship as they act to
maintain and develop it (Schaefer & Olson, 1981). Being emotionally close and connected to
one’s partner is also another reason why individuals have a meaningful relationship. When
partners feel intimate with each other specifically in terms of emotion, their relationship is more
likely satisfying and stable (Greeff & Malherbe, 2001; Schaefer & Olson, 1981).
Given the above-mentioned views on interfaith marriages, the researchers believed that
the health and wellness of couples from interfaith marriages may be affected by their context.
Health and wellness encompass the full vitality of an individual’s well-being, including his
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physical, psychological, mental, spiritual, and mental state (Fahel, Insel & Roth, 2007). Couples
who are into interfaith marriages are in the average sense, considered to be more stress and
lonely than those engaged with same-faith matrimonies (Riley, 2010). However, it was also
claimed that diversity within marriage, in the form of religious practices adds beauty to a
couple’s marriage life (Chulak, n.d.). Hence, the researchers wanted to discern how these two
contrasting ideas dialogue with each other, with respect to one’s faith.
Because of varying reactions to interfaith marriages, the current study is open to the
possibility that the results that the researchers have gathered may serve as a reference for other
individuals in providing light regarding possible stereotypes. The researchers supposed that at
hand were only a minority of studies regarding the presence of stereotypes for couples of
interfaith marriages, and some of them can be very confusing. For one, interfaith couples
continue to receive disapproval and broad generalizations not just from outsiders but even from a
few relatives (Riley, 2010). However, the underlying principle here is that the researchers may
have uncovered how stereotypes are handled by couples of interfaith marriages. Hence, the
dynamics of how typecasting influences a married couple’s experience, well-being, and
satisfaction may be nonetheless, publicly accessible.
Lastly, the study also shed light on the subject about relational issues and how certain
gaps with regard to this is experienced between interfaith married couples. The researchers
believed that the vast experiences, may it be positive or negative, of this type of couple must be
put to light considering the fact that they lived and will keep on living together in the same
residence. This has depicted their experiences in order to contribute information on how to deal
with these especially that a bigger range of possible conflicts may emerge all along with the
presence of their children.
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Conversely, the researchers have made use of homogenous sampling so as to uncover the
underlying themes on how couples from different religions have varying experiences in terms of
individual satisfaction and psychological well-being. By this, sampling has assumed
homogeneity among participants while they share similar characteristics and qualifications with
one another. However, the scope of the study has been limited to the locale where the proposed
study took place, which in this sense is the small sample size from Cagayan de Oro. Findings
then relied on words and their fundamental meanings, thus, have not statistically generalized
results. Because the goal of this research was to explore a social phenomenon, the qualitative
approach was not anymore pooled with other existing methods such as the quantitative approach.
Accordingly, whatever findings that the study suggested was not considered as also true with
other individuals.
The Present Study
The idea of interfaith marriage connotes a marriage between individuals amid different
religions. The union involved in the marriage entails two spouses who follow a different
religious tradition in contrast to his or her partner (Riley, 2013). An interfaith marriage can take
various forms; the first type that the present study covers is concerned with the type of marriage
from two religions that contain a few points of resemblance. These are the religious convictions
which consider Abraham as a Patriarch, denoting an Abrahamic religion, for example,
Christianity and Islam. The second type would then be an interfaith marriage from diverse major
divisions in a single religion, for one, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism (Murphy, 2015).
Nevertheless, even if couples engaged in an interfaith marriage can be appreciative to his or her
partner’s belief including its value and traditions, any form of interfaith marriages has
differences with regard to values and manifestations that accompany it (Chulak, n.d.).
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Marital satisfaction is when the partners feel the most satisfying feeling with one another
(Ahmadi, 2008). Being emotionally intimate is the ability to be understood as one shares his
feelings toward his partner. Furthermore, being loved and feeling understood were seen to be
integral parts in terms of marital satisfaction for both women and men. Marital satisfaction also
refers to the quality of the marital relationship, which can also be influenced by two other things;
love and affection (Haynes, 1992). In predicting the marital satisfaction of married couples, the
emotional component of intimacy appears to be the most important compared to the sexual one
(Schaefer & Olson, 1981; Tolstedt & Stokes, 1983). Emotional intimacy and sexual intimacy are
the two components of intimacy. Married couples who feel the closeness toward their partner
and those who feel being understood result to feelings of satisfaction for the couples.
Furthermore, religious practice can be the reason for the positive outcomes of stability and
quality of marriage. Various sociological studies have shown that regularly practicing one’s
religion is associated with a greater possibility of a higher level of satisfaction (Ahmadi, 2008).
Meanwhile, psychological well-being is said to be deeply rooted in one’s religious
beliefs. The well-being of an individual is defined as a state of being healthy, happy, contented,
relax, and having a peace of mind. Also, well-being or human flourishing involves maintaining
significant communal relationships, the meaning of existence and accomplishment of personal
goals (Seligman, 2011). Hence, psychological well-being is a combination of optimism and life
satisfaction. Moreover, our religion is regarded as a powerful coping mechanism for it can
provide optimism when an individual is currently in despair and in the midst of mental distress.
Thus, practicing one’s religion has a significant outcome on happiness or contentment and
overall sense of well-being in an individual (Jain, Joshi & Kumari, 2008).
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In terms of challenges in marriage among interfaith couples, the marital environment is
perceived to be an indicator in analyzing the issues that married couples are currently going
through. Marital environment is a combination of the perceived equality of household chores and
the perceived fairness of outlaying money. The perceived equality of household chores pertains
to the dissemination of household responsibilities and can be related to gender inequality. In the
meantime, the perceived fairness of outlaying money is concerned more about the effect of
finances in marriage. Indeed, the marital environment is vital to consider since all of the
variables under the marital environment are said to be reasons why couples argue, resulting in
marital conflicts or challenges. Marital conflict may be seen as a factor that would account for a
person’s interest in marital dissolution basing on the level of conflict experienced in marriage.
In connection with the above concepts, the current research had the following general
research questions:
1. What are the experiences of couples from interfaith marriages?
2. How do these couples perceive their well-being?
3. How do these couples perceive their marital satisfaction?
Method
Participants
This study has interviewed five couples engaged in an interfaith marriage. The sample
needs to be enough to produce a rich and in-depth conversation and dialogue (Eliot &
Associates, 2005). The preset sample size was identified through snowball sampling. Thus,
informants of the researchers served as the means to refer them to married interfaith couples who
could take part of the study. A one-on-one in-depth interview with each couple has ensured that
the study was able to cover more than one perspective. Thus, it would make the data more
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certain. As this study has explored interfaith marriages, homogenous sampling was utilized for
an in-depth understanding regarding interfaith marriages (Leard, 2012). With this, participants
shared similar characteristics and qualifications. The couple must be married and they must come
from different religions. The participant's age ranged from the age group of middle adulthood
while he or she socio-economically belongs to the middle class or the working class. Since this
study aimed to display a comprehensible picture of how health, wellness, relational issues, gaps,
and stereotyping are experienced by couples from interfaith marriages as well as the dynamics of
how typecasting influences a married couple’s experience, well-being, and satisfaction, it is only
appropriate to explore an in-depth perspective of the couples from interfaith marriages. Tables 1
and 2 below present the demographics of the participants.
Table 1. Age of Participants

Age Number of Participants
36 to 40 years old 3
51 to 55 years 2
Total 10
Table 2. Religion of Participants

Religion Number of Participants
Baptist 1
Church of God Seventh Day 1
Islam 1
Jehova’s Witnesses 2
Roman Catholic 5
Total 10
Measures
This research paper did not make use of any established questionnaire in gathering data
but was able to make use of one-on-one in-depth interviews, instead. This is due to the fact that
the study dealt with sensitive issues and that the researchers made use of a qualitative design. A
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one-on-one in-depth interview was suitable for the study because this has helped the respondents
to freely dispel his or her thoughts to the researchers even if confronted with sensitive questions.
Hence, three series of a one-on-one in-depth interview were conducted for the entire data-
gathering process.
To start with, the researchers first build rapport towards the participants (e.g. Getting-to-
know each other) for an easier and effective communication process. Secondly, the researchers
then asked questions about the person’s marriage experiences (e.g. How is it like to be a couple
in an interfaith marriage? How did your religious belief or faith influence you in your decision to
marry each other?), one’s well-being towards his or her partner (e.g. How can you describe the
present state of your marriage? Can you say that your previous expectations before marriage
have been met at present? In what ways?), and their marital satisfaction towards their partner
(e.g. How is your relationship as a couple? Are you satisfied with it? How do you keep or
maintain your relationship as a couple?),
The third session of the one-on-one in-depth interview was for the follow-up questions
and clarifications (if there were raised) and also this was the time where the participants added
newly remembered information (if there was) regarding the topic. The questions for the
interview were formulated by the researchers considering the main concerns of the research.
Also, the questions were translated to “Bisaya” and “Tagalog” for a more convenient talk with
the participants, assuming the possibility that some cannot understand or speak other dialects.
Procedure
Fundamentally, the predetermined design for this qualitative study was in the form of a
case study research. The preset sample size within Cagayan de Oro was identified through
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snowball sampling. In this way, informants of the researchers served as the means to refer them
to married interfaith couples who could perhaps take part in the said study. It is also important to
emphasize that the voluntary nature of giving inputs in a study was strictly implemented.
Nonetheless, a one-on-one in-depth interview was carried out during the collection of empirical
data in an attempt to make the participant be more comfortable. Each couple was interviewed
separately and the time of this was determined by the participant with regard to his or her
convenience. Moreover, all participants were interviewed as a couple too for the intention of
collecting a more comprehensive data regarding how the two of them perceive a similar event.
In the meantime, the utilization of informed consent was also firmly applied and the
actual data gathering only proceeded after the participant has consented. Accordingly, the
researchers have ensured that the participant knows for a fact, the purpose and nature of the
study. Moreover, the researchers gave the participant the knowledge on how the researcher plans
to proceed with their interview and that the use of audio recording was also utilized. The
researchers also made certain that their qualifications and experiences are appropriate to the
proposed research. Lastly, the researchers presented the possible duration of the interview which
lasted for about an hour and a sequence of two more follow-up interviews took part, so as to give
the researchers an opportunity to verify the data collected and to ask some clarifications.
Data Analysis
Qualitative analysis deals with the examination of general statements about the
connections between the groups of data. Since the researchers used a qualitative design; they
have undergone data entry and storage or transcription. This is a type of organizing data through
typing the text gathered from the one-on-one in-depth interview with all of the respondents’
inputs or any means of notes that are essential, into word processing documents. Meanwhile,
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coding and developing category were another process in doing qualitative data analysis. In this
stage, the transcribed data was carefully read and were divided into essential analytical units
through ‘coding’. Coding was done through naming or categorizing in order to group similar
kinds of information together. Data entry, coding, and developing are all parts of the thematic
analysis.
Certainly, the thematic analysis was used in this study since this is the most suitable for
any research that pursues to learn through information. Also, thematic analysis contributed the
prospect for researchers to go further than the numerical data. The themes or the codes developed
under the process were helpful in order for the study to make sense. This adhered towards
inspecting the data to arrive at a logical understanding of the participant’s feelings that originated
from their day-to-day experiences. After coming up with themes, the researchers had the themes
audited by an external auditor. This external auditor has the credentials in the field of qualitative
research and psychology. The researchers also asked the participants to check the veracity of
data. Finally, there were no specific statistical tools employed for the data analysis.
Results
The researchers were able to gather information from five interfaith couples which
comprise of five females and five males aged 35 to 55. The pool of participants had diverse
religious backgrounds, wherein the first couple was from a Baptist and Catholic religious
background, the second and the third couples were Catholics and Jehovah’s Witnesses, whilst the
fourth couple was a Muslim and Catholic, and lastly, the fifth couple had an Adventist and
Catholic religious heritage.
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Case One
Couple one is engaged in an interfaith marriage for 15 years with three children,
presently. P1M is a forty-seven-year-old Baptist and is managing his auto parts store within
Cagayan de Oro so as to support his present family’s needs. On the other hand, P1F is a forty-
four-year-old Roman Catholic who works as an office worker. The couple met each other
through a common friend. Although P1M has been through a lot of relationships, he reassured
P1F that he will continue to court her even after she said ‘Yes’. Yet as a consequence of some
unforeseen events, P1F got pregnant at the age of 28, eight months after their relationship as
boyfriend and girlfriend. There is a huge accountability waiting ahead of them and it became a
struggle for P1M and P1F since, at that time, they have to get married as soon as possible. The
couple got married in a civil wedding given the differences that they have regarding religion.
Nonetheless, seven years after their marriage, P1M engaged into an excessive use of alcohol in
addition to his utilization of methamphetamine. Without a doubt, P1M’s substance use was the
crucial point of their marriage.
During their first few months as a married couple, P1F affirmed that her in-laws were a
huge part as to why she chooses to participate in her husband’s faith practices sometimes.
Nevertheless, the couple also went through with disagreements since there are no means to
escape such in any marriage. P1F held that their conflicts are sometimes due to where they
would celebrate the Eucharist as a family. On the other hand, P1M claimed that their conflicts
are also caused by financial difficulties as his business does not constantly have a big profit.
Apart from this, P1M’s indolence is also a factor of their conflicts and this was confirmed by
P1F since according to her, the household responsibilities are at all times handled by her.
Conversely, P1F asserted that sometime in their conflicts, there was a time when they would
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unintentionally spot each other inside the Catholic Church and they would converse there after a
period of being silent together. With this, the couple considers praying as an important tool in
handling their conflicts. Moreover, according to P1F, they decided as a couple that they will give
their children the freedom to choose which religion they would like to belong in. Herewith, the
couple then shares their faith to their children, separately.
Meanwhile, P1F emphasized that she is not satisfied with her marriage life as it is more
filled with emotional burdens than happiness. This was confirmed by P1M since according to
him, he was not able to satisfy his wife seeing that this was not the type of family he expected
before. According to P1F, they are not the kind of couple who spends time together and as a
family. The couple does not also converse with regards to their issues since P1M gets mad
because of this, as testified by P1F. Consequently, P1F’s children are her only source of
happiness in line with her notion that she does not experience happiness with her husband to any
further extent. P1M then claimed that despite everything that has happened, he is thankful for her
children’s presence in their family.
Moreover, P1F claimed that although most women may expect a happy family, she was
not able to experience such ever since P1M engaged himself in substance use. Other than that,
P1F asserted that as to practicing her faith as a Catholic, she has a preference to exercise it alone
given that she gets distracted thinking about P1M’s view during a Catholic mass. According to
P1F, their marriage has complications as she even emphasized that her life as a Catholic on her
own would be much better. P1M then claimed that he accepts the present situation of their
marriage life and that he understands his wife. Even so, P1M is still hopeful that they would be
able to fix their relationship as for him; their conflicts are not solely caused by their different
religious beliefs but are due to their experiences instead.
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Case Two
Couple two is engaged in an interfaith marriage for 10 years and was blessed with one
daughter at present. They met each other through a common friend and got married after a year,
thinking that they are ready to settle down. However, before they got the sacrament of
matrimony, the couple underwent issues regarding their different religious heritage. P2M is a
Jehovah’s Witness while P2F is a Catholic. P2M’s family insisted on following the wedding
ceremony of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the religious conversion of P2F. However, P2F disagreed
to the idea as she came from a family of conservative Catholics. Ruminating the situation, P2M
consulted their Church Leader. Expectedly, their Church Leader disagreed to the idea of
interfaith marriage because their religion encourages marrying only other baptized Jehovah’s
Witnesses. However, P2M still insisted on marrying P2F. They finally got married in a Catholic
Church and later on, their families learned to accept their situation as they realized that the
couple shared several beliefs amidst their religious differences.
As they started their life as a couple, both of them were gradually exposed to the different
religious practices of one another. P2F worshiped through religious statues while P2M reads the
Bible. For this reason, the couple underwent challenging adjustments. Yet, amidst the presence
of trials, the couple believed that engaging in an interfaith marriage widened their knowledge
and understanding about other religions’ beliefs, culture, and practices. The couple even stated
that as much as how others presume their typical conflicts were caused by their religious
differences, it turned out that it is not. Rather, their usual conflicts are caused by the imbalanced
division of household chores. P2F reported that she usually does the chores while her husband
never does anything after coming from work. Fortunately, the couple stated that they try to fix
their conflicts by talking and discussing their issues before the day ends as this practice was also
19 | P a g e
encouraged by the couple’s religion. Overall, the experiences of the couple were almost the same
with couples from the same religion, as their typical issues and conflicts are centered on their
household and monetary difficulties.
Coming from different beliefs and practices, this couple admitted that having arguments
and misunderstandings are somehow common. However, as they described their ten-year
marriage, they confirmed their overall satisfaction despite the presence of glitches. The couple
stated that through understanding, conversing and respecting each other’s point of view, any
misunderstandings or quarrels will progressively and peacefully end. They emphasized how
important for any marriage, interfaith or not, to respect and understand each other’s differences.
In line with this, the couple’s different religious beliefs were handled through manifesting their
religions separately. As mentioned before, P2F worships with religious statues while her husband
worships by reading the Bible. They may have different practices and beliefs, but they never
forbid one another in fulfilling their spiritual responsibilities. They allow one another to profess
their own religion. P2F elaborated that in any kind of marriage, conflicts really arise and it is up
for the couple to handle it. Couple two handled it through conversing and respecting one
another’s beliefs and practices.
With everything that the couple had experienced, they still perceived their marriage as a
blissful one. They also embraced the idea of facing incoming trials and challenges, yet despite all
of these, they chose to continue to stick to their marriage. They may initially unexpected such
union with someone from a different religion, yet the couple declared that being engaged in an
interfaith marriage brought happiness and contentment in their own lives. In the present, the
couple stated how satisfied they were even if they came from different religious backgrounds as
they had filled their union with love and respect.
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Case Three
The third couple got married in the year 2008 and has been together for eight (8) years
with two children; a two-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter. Individually, the third couple
surpassed in their own crafts. P3M currently works as a marketing agent whereas P3F works as a
sales office worker. Both are working in the same company which is situated in Cagayan de Oro.
P3M and P3F knew each other since their fifth grade. Yet, after graduating, different paths along
with time placed distance between them and they ended up not hearing about each other. Years
had passed as the both of them have finished their studies; they have found themselves adding
each other on Facebook. Since then, they have shared recollections until they decided to get
married after a seven-month relationship.
Living together for eight years as a couple, adjustments and conflicts are also obvious
especially with their diverse religious backgrounds. Couple three even emphasized during the
interview that the first five years of their marriage was the stage where disagreements were
frequent. Moreover, P3M and P3F got married after a seven-month romantic relationship since
they both believed that they will know each other’s differences as they work on their marriage.
P3M also recollected that it took time for him to finally get P3F’s hands because his in-laws
were so firm in their belief on letting their daughter get married to someone who has the same
religion that they are practicing. Even so, P3M remained hopeful through fighting for P3F in the
midst of odds. In the end, fate favored the couple and they decided to get married as things got
settled between them and their in-laws. In the first years of their marriage, P3M and P3F
emphasized that their priorities were changed from the time when their children came. Couple
three even set aside what they want as they began to prioritize things that are needed for the
family. Also, when it comes to forming their children’s religious identity, couple three prefers to
21 | P a g e
educate them individually. In this way, they can inculcate learning in their children and they can
achieve religious consciousness that will help them decide which faith they would like to
affiliate. Hence, they exercise the freedom of their children as regards to which faith practices
they want to connect. One of the main problems faced by couple three, specifically in the case of
P3F, was affirming her in-laws’ religious belief. According to her, there are certain practices in
the Roman Catholic that are not celebrated in Jehovah’s witnesses, particularly Christmas and
All Soul’s day. Despite these, P3F managed to get along with her in-laws, for, in her perspective,
she does not want to be rude. Conversely, the capacity to outlay money and the perceived
equality in household chores are the typical problems encountered by the third couple in their
day-to-day marriage life. For them, they are also having a hard time handling their finances and
sometimes, P3M can be inactive on doing the household responsibilities due to his overtiredness
from work. This leads to leaving all the household responsibilities to P3F which was viewed by
her as unfair.
Meanwhile, P3M and P3F perceived contentment in their marital satisfaction. Despite
their religious differences and marital conflicts, they were able to sustain an open
communication. This helped them in arriving at a unified decision on how they will make their
relationship work. The third couple has this certain technique in handling their marriage and that
is; they never let the day ends without talking about their problems because for them a problem
should not be left unsolved until sunrise.
Lastly, P3M and P3F perceived their well-being as strong. They claimed that they
matured due to their experiences and most of all; they are happy and contented with each other.
As what they have said during the interview, conflicts are common in marriage while
understanding along with respecting each other are the ways to confront these conflicts.
22 | P a g e
Case Four
Couple four is engaged in an interfaith marriage for 17 years with 6 children; 3 males and
3 females. P4M is a fifty-three-year-old follower of Islam while P4F is a forty-seven-year-old
follower of Christianity. The couple met each other when they were in college. P4M courted P4F
which took him almost 3 months and the two officially became a couple during their 2nd year in
college. Aside from this, the couple also finished their studies together. Days passed and some
things changed; P4M went to Manila to take his board examination. With this, P4F decided to
also fly to Manila. Right after the board examination of P4M, they decided to just elope because
they do not want to break their relationship anymore. P4M and P4F eloped for almost 7 months.
But unexpected happenings had occurred, P4F got pregnant and at that time, they do not know
what to do. With this, they decided to go back to Lanao where the family of P4M was living to
get some support. P4M decided to marry P4F in the year 1999 considering their situation. The
couple is open and allows their children to choose whatever religion they want to engage in.
Presently, they have four (4) children (3 males and 1 female) who voluntarily follow Islam and
the other two (2) females follow Christianity as their religion. Back when they were still a
newly-wed couple, they stayed at Malabang, Lanao del Sur, yet, they chose to transfer in
Cagayan de Oro City after a few years.
As the time went by, their relationship encountered conflicts, just like having monetary
conflicts. The couple also emphasized that they do not consider religion as a major conflict in
their marriage. Nevertheless, keeping an open communication and praying served as factors in
resolving the conflicts that they are facing. P4M also reported that understanding each other and
sharing each other’s opinion are also tools to resolve marital conflicts. Moreover, according to
P4M and P4F, they will give their children the freedom to choose whatever religion they want to
23 | P a g e
engage in. With this, P4M emphasized that he will support his children with their religious
preference as he told them about that since they were young. In addition, P4F highlighted that
she does not convince her children about wanting a certain religion. As an alternative, she is
supportive to her children’s religious preference.
Considering their situation as an interfaith married couple, couple four manages to not
forsake their individual religion. P4F emphasized that because of his husband’s restriction in
displaying altars at home; she manages to pray through self-prayer. Couple four has a sense of
happiness in their relationship regardless of their differences in religion. P4F emphasized that as
a couple, they are happy since the beginning of their marriage and nothing has changed
throughout the years.
In addition, respecting each other’s religion and religious practices are also observed in
the marriage life of couple four. P4F emphasized that she is not undertaking anything that would
disrespect her own religion and her spouse’s religion, thus, P4F’s spouse also does the same.
P4M does not want his wife to eat pork inside their house or any food that contains some pork
considering that he follows Islam and as a Muslim, he is prohibited to eat pork. With this, P4 M
only allows his wife to eat pork outside their house. In response, P4F emphasized that she shows
her respect by obeying her husband’s will of not eating pork inside their house. Moreover,
couple four’s children serve as their source of happiness and contentment in their relationship.
Considering that couple four has six (6) children, they consider them as one of the sources of
happiness in their marriage. P4M is happy and he enjoys life as long as he has his children with
him. In addition, P4F emphasized that she is also contented with her children. Above all, couple
four considers their children as an important feature to their marital satisfaction.
24 | P a g e
Case Five
Couple five is engaged in an interfaith marriage for 5 years with a four-year-old son and
is residing in Cagayan de Oro. P5M is a thirty-nine-year-old RTA Head Officer and is a devoted
Roman Catholic who spends some of his leisure time at the Monastery. As he did grow up in a
monastery, it may not be surprising that he is used to visiting the Catholic Church. Conversely,
P5F is thirty-six-year-old Head Nurse and was initially born as a Roman Catholic. However, due
to the influence of his father in their family, she was converted to a Church of God Seventh Day
when she was six years old. With this, she grew up looking up to the teachings, beliefs, and
practices of her present religion. The couple knew each other in a Dating App as P5M realized
that P5F possesses the qualities that he is trying to look for in a woman.
As a couple engaged in an interfaith marriage, extra challenges may not appear as a
surprise. While it was easy for them to accept their religious differences, the people around them
were not especially the family of P5M. This is because his family thinks that he might convert
into P5F’s religion which is different from their own. Also, during the earlier stage of their
marriage, P5M had a hard time thinking if P5F’s family will accept him despite their religious
differences. Despite this, P5M did not have a hard time honoring his in-laws since P5F’s family
is open to all religious diversity. However, marital conflicts are also inevitable in any marriage.
There are times when couple five questioned the religion of one another which challenged their
faith. Since the both of them are truly devoted to their own religion, they also argue when it
comes to defending their own religion. Thus far, their conflicts are not only limited to their
religious differences as their conflicts also arise from their lack of time with each other. Since
P5M works in the middle of the night while P5F works during the day, they barely see one
another. Nevertheless, couple five highly believes that every problem comes with a solution.
25 | P a g e
With this, they learned that although they have their differences, they should understand and
apprehend the religion of one another. There were also times when they use the verses and
teachings of their Bible when they argue. In that way, they will be able to apply the teachings of
their own belief. With regards to lack of time, P5M decided to request a change in his work
schedule so as to have some time with his wife. Nevertheless, they are also into the idea of
individually teaching their own religious beliefs and practices to their child. This gives their
child the freedom to choose his or her religion.
Couple five also reported that they are highly satisfied with their marriage. Over the
years, what made them hold on despite their differences is that they do not consider their
religious differences as a conflict. Instead, they choose to respect these differences. However,
their marriage does not also serve as a hindrance for them to not practice their own religions
because they are highly open with one another. There were times when they go with their spouse
to attend the mass and celebrate a religious event with their family since they consider these
events as symbolic to the both of them.
As a couple, P5F and P5M do not believe that the differences in their religion is a
hindrance for the both of them to love each other as what matters most is that the both of them
believes in the existence of God. They also considered themselves as a happy couple since
according to P5M; their marriage life is full of life, full of optimism, and full of inspiration.
Aside from the notion that they are open to the differences in their belief, what makes them
happy in their life as a couple is that they never fail to sustain their marital intimacy by showing
efforts to keep their relationship despite the fact that they are both busy with their jobs. This is
apparent as P5M loves to surprise P5F whenever there is a special occasion in their lives such as
anniversary, monthsary and also during Christmas.
26 | P a g e
Having gathered the information and the life experiences of the five couples through a
series of interviews, the researchers progressed to thematic analysis, by way of having the
participants’ responses segregated into eleven subthemes, namely: Religious marital conflict,
challenges in marriage, keeping an open communication, faith in God as marital support,
apprehension of religious diversity, child’s freedom to choose one’s religion, individual sharing
of religious belief, presence of trials, exerting effort to keep the relationship, manifestation of
love and respect, children affect parental satisfaction. These subthemes were eventually clustered
into eight themes based on the study’s three variables; couple’s experiences, well-being, and
marital satisfaction as seen in Table 1.
EXPERIENCES
Honouring One’s In-Laws
Marital Conflicts  Religious Marital Conflict

 Challenges In Marriage
 Keeping an Open Communication

Marital Conflict Resolution  Faith in God as Marital Support
 Openness towards Religious Diversity
Children’s Religious Formation  Child’s Freedom to Choose One’s Religion

 Individual Sharing of Religious Belief
WELL-BEING
Perceived Sense Of Happiness

Factors Influencing Psychological  Presence of Trials
Well-Being  Individual Religious Practice
Sense of Optimism
MARITAL SATISFACTION
Factors Influencing Marital  Exerting Effort to Keep the Relationship
 Manifestation of Love and Respect
Satisfaction
 Children Affect Parental Satisfaction
Table 1: Eight Main Themes and its Twelve Subthemes
27 | P a g e
Experiences Of Couples
Even with the presence of differences, the couple does not only respect their spouse’s
family but also the different religious practices that they exercise. This relates to how the couples
in an inter-faith marriage give importance to their in-laws’ viewpoint regarding marriage along
with practicing some of their religious practices as a way of respect. This means that an
individual seeks the approval of one’s in-laws for marriage in spite of religious differences.
“Pero usahay kay ga-give way ko, didto gyud ko maka-
simba sa ilaha para lang sa iyang mama ug papa”
("But sometimes I give way, I worship in their church
just for his mom and dad.")
P1M explained that there can be instances where he worships his spouse’s religion just for
his in-laws.
Marital Conflicts
It is quite common to hear married couples going through conflicts and
misunderstandings especially for interfaith ones. Nevertheless, these are the conflicts, regarding
and regardless of religion, experienced by the couples in their day-to-day living that causes
disagreements between them. This theme includes two subthemes, namely: a.) Religious Marital
Conflict, and b.) Challenges in Marriage.
Religious Marital Conflict. Coming from different religions with diverse beliefs, couples
may have the tendency to experience disagreements and estrangement from each other’s religion
because of their dissimilarities concerning practices and traditions. This subtheme pertains to the
28 | P a g e
couples’ frequent arguments about their respective religion, in accordance with their religious
differences.
“Naay times magka misunderstanding mi sa among
mga tinuohan kay magsige mi ug defend sa among
mga own religion pero gaka-settle ra man sad namo.”
("There are times when we experience
misunderstandings regarding our beliefs because we
tend to defend our own religion but we were able to
settle it.”)
P5M reported that their conflicts usually arise from their misunderstandings concerning
their different perspectives about their own religious beliefs. The participant highlighted that
these conflicts take place whenever they attempt to defend their own faith but P5M also added
that they settle the conflict immediately.
Challenges in Marriage. Interfaith couples are just like any other couples. They
experience daily problems and challenges. These are the inevitable challenges in any married
couples’ life, such as insufficient capacity to outlay money and inequality of household chores.
“Kana bitaw’ng ang amo jung pirminti gina-awayan
sa balay is kani jung pagtrabaho. Dapat mag divide mi
sa trabaho sa balay pero ang gakahitabo kay dili”
("Our usual disputes at home is really our household
responsibilities. We should divide our tasks at home
but it is not what is happening.”)
29 | P a g e
Couples may have to handle numerous challenges and this includes even the division of
household chores. According to P2F, almost every day, they often argue about the household
tasks. Yet, there are instances wherein tasks are not divided equally. She also added that every so
often, these household errands are accomplished without her partner’s help.
“Ay ang number one na problem naming talaga,
primero no, ay financial talaga. Yan ang number one.
Hindi na namin iniisip yang mga, yung mga about
religion”
(“Our primary problem is really our finances; that is
the number one. We do not think those about
religion.”)
Couples from an interfaith marriage may be thought to have prominent challenges
regarding their religious differences. Yet, this idea was completely opposed by P4F as she stated
that the most common problem that they encounter as a couple is their financial problems.
Religious differences were minor issues in their relationship.
Marital Conflict Resolution
As interfaith couples encounter daily challenges and misunderstandings, they need to
cope up with these stresses to keep up with their relationship and strengthen it further. This
theme pertains to the strategies and various ways in which the couples resolve conflicts in their
marriage life. This theme includes three subthemes, namely: a.) Keeping an Open
Communication, b.) Faith in God as Marital Support, c.) Openness towards Religious Diversity
30 | P a g e
Keeping an open communication. Even with so much tension and challenges, couples
need to strengthen their relationship for their family. There are certain strategies that can help
couples even with certain differences on their values and beliefs. The participants highly
believed that discussing their issues is a better way to solve the conflicts that they are currently
facing.
“Istoryahun, aron kung unsa ma’y mga problema
sulod sa pamilya, sturyahon aron masulbad.”
("We communicate. So that whatever problems are
within the family will be resolved through
communcating.”)
P2F stated that as a couple, they try to keep an open communication especially when
problems arise within their family. They discussed their different opinions for them to solve their
difficulties.
Faith in God as Marital Support. As times when challenges arise, the couple’s faith has
been an important support amidst their struggles. The participants consider seeking God as a
means of solving their marital conflicts so as to ask for God’s support in their marriage life.
“Number one man jud na ang pag-ampo. Nakatabang
jud sa amoang pagpuyo, pinaagi sa pagpaningkamot,
taliwala sa kakabos.”
("Number one is really prayer. It really helped our
living, by trying in the midst of poverty. ")
31 | P a g e
P2F stated that as a couple, praying has really helped them a lot especially when it comes
to their marriage and family life. Praying has inspired them to strive despite challenges and
downfalls.
Openness towards Religious Diversity. This theme pertains to how the participants
engaging in an interfaith marriage have the opportunity to be exposed from their spouse’s
religion given the fact that they are both open and willing to accept each other’s religious
differences.
“Willing ko na studyhan ang iyang relihiyion. Kay mao
lge open minded man ko willing ko mudawat ug
musabot.”
("I am willing to study his religion. Because I am open
minded and I am willing to accept and understand.")
P3M stressed that despite the religious differences in his marriage, he is deeply willing to
study her wife’s religion. Taking also into consideration that he considers himself as an open-
minded person, thus, he is eager to accept and understand her wife’s spiritual practices in order
to avoid conflict.
Children’s Religious Formation
This fourth theme pertains to the spiritual shaping and growth of the child’s religious
identity from individual religious beliefs shown by the parents. This theme includes two
subthemes, namely: a.) Child’s Freedom to Choose One’s Religion, and b.) Individual Sharing
of Religious Belief
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Child’s Freedom to choose one’s Religion. The participants acknowledged the idea of
allowing their children to choose their own religion amidst the religious differences of the
couple. They gave their children the independence to decide without intervening with their
children’s religious paths.
“Oo, okay ra kaayo sa akoa kung asa sila kay para
man gyud sa akoa is, mas maayo man gyud ng mutuo
ka sa Ginoo bahala kung unsa ka na religion. Dili man
gyud kanang, lisod man sad ng dira gyud ka, kanang
gina-force gyud.”
(“Yes, I am okay whichever there preference is
because as for me, it is better to believe in God
regardless of religion. It would be difficult for me to
force them”)
P1F clarified that she accepts the notion of giving her children the freedom to choose the
religion that they would like to belong in. She also emphasized that acknowledging the existence
of God is a lot more important since it would be difficult for her to impose a certain religion to
her children.
Individual sharing of religious belief. This pertains to the participants’ tendency to
individually introduce and share their own religious beliefs to their children whilst considering
other religious ideas and beliefs.
“Kanang kung unsa iyahang (husband) belief kay
pwede pud niya itudlo sa amoang anak pero kung unsa
33 | P a g e
pud akong belief kay ako-a pud itudlo sa among mga
anak. So individual nalang mi magshare.”
("Whatever his beliefs are, he can teach it to our
children then whatever my beliefs are, I would also
teach it to our children. So we share our faiths
individually.”)
P5F shared that as a couple, both of them can freely share each one’s religious beliefs,
teachings, and practices to their children. To reduce their children’s confusion between two
different religions, the couple encouraged individual sharing of beliefs.
Perceived Psychological Well-Being
Perceived Sense of Happiness
This states that the participants have a sense of happiness in their relationship with their
spouse. They were able to acknowledge the fact that this sense of happiness is partly due to the
notion that their spouse was able to fulfill their expectations on marriage. Meaning, they are
contented and satisfied with the kind of relationship/ life that they are in. In that way, they found
happiness in each other. They consider each other as an inspiration to go on with life, positively.
“Happy. Kanang ga-start pami as a married couple
na different ug religion, walay nag bag-o sa pila ka
years na namo na pag-minyo”
("Happy. When we started as a married couple with
different religions, nothing has changed throughout our
several years of being together.")
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P4F explained how different religious faith was never a hindrance to them. She described
how happy she is with her spouse because nothing has changed with their relationship and love
for each other despite their differences.
Factors Influencing Psychological Well-Being
The theme pertains to the adherence of each spouse to his or her own religion amidst
couple’s religious differences. This means that participants prefer practicing their religious faith
and beliefs alone by the reason of considering their spouse’s religious perspectives. In addition,
participants recognized the presence of complications in their relationship with their spouse.
They also determined the existence of conflicts and regarded it as normal in a married couple’s
relationship. They have expressed their views about resolving these conflicts right away. This
theme embraces three subthemes, namely: a) Individual Religious Practice, and b) Presence of
Trials
Individual Religious Practice. The theme pertains to the adherence of each spouse to his
or her own religion amidst couple’s religious differences. This means that participants prefer
practicing their religious faith and beliefs alone by the reason of considering their spouse’s
religious perspectives. Despite the differences in religion, the participants are practicing it
carefully in their own little ways. The obedience of each spouse to his or her own religion despite
their differences in religion is somewhat a way wherein they find respect in each other.
“Magsimba ko sa Catholic, ako ra isa. I-prefer gali
nako na ako ra isa kaysa naa siya kay murag maka
distract man gyud siya sa ako-a kay kinahanglan nako
siya pirminte bitaw gina, “okay ra ka ha ni sya?”
35 | P a g e
Murag ma disturbo ko pirminti na, okay ra ka ha na
magsimba siya ani?”
("I worship in the Catholic church, alone. I even prefer
to be alone because I maybe get distracted when he is
around. I need to always think about like, “Is he
okay?” It seems to disturb me like, is it okay for him to
worship this?")
P1F rationalized that practicing religious beliefs alone made her comfortable because she
assumes that whenever she is with her husband, she thinks of him as a distraction and that
practicing her faith with him made her think if her husband is okay with it or if he is comfortable,
which made her confused and in some way disturbed.
Presence of Trials. This denotes that the participants recognized the presence of
complications in their relationship with their spouse. They also determined the existence of
conflicts and regarded it as normal in a married couple’s relationship. They have expressed their
views about resolving these conflicts right away. Trials are always present in a couple’s marriage
and these are normal because it is a spice to every relationship. But no matter how hard or
difficult the trial is, as long as you learn how to cope with it together, then it will always be on
your advantage.
“Pero, sa among relasyon, syempre, aduna ma’y panag-
away ginagmay ug normal ra man siguro na sa usa ka
magtiayon, basta dili lang palabhi-un”
36 | P a g e
("But, in our relationship, of course, there are minor
misunderstandings but these are normal in any couple, as
long as we do not worsen it.")
P2F disclosed that trials are normal in a marriage life but it is vital to talk about it with
your spouse so as to solve it right away and for the problem to not worsen.
Sense of Optimism
This relates to the interfaith married couple’s sense of hopefulness to mend and outdo the
trials that they are facing in their situation of engaging in an inter-faith marriage. Even so, they
are hopeful that they can fix whatever challenges that they are facing at the moment. They also
conceded the possibility of upcoming challenges in their relationship, making them determined
to face it without giving up. The participants are continually working on their relationship so as
to prevent past negative experiences from being repeated. Interfaith marriages are very
complicated in a way that one does not know if it will go smoothly or not. However, couples
should know how to make their marriage successful even when faced with marital conflicts or
trials.
“Dawaton nako na dili siya okay pero kabalo ko na
nasabtan kaayo nako siya karon, sa among mga naagian.
Hopeful pud ko na eventually, mapa-ingon ra gihapon siya
na maayo.”
("I will accept that our relationship is not okay but I do know
that I understand her for everything that we have
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experienced. I am also hopeful that eventually, things will go
well.”)
P1M stated he was able to primarily accept that his marriage is not presently fine but he
was hopeful that their relationship will soon be well. The participant also affirmed that the trials
that they have encountered will be surpassed, eventually.
Perceived Marital Satisfaction
Factors Influencing Marital Satisfaction
This demonstrates the manifestation of love and respect that includes effort and spending
time with each other so as to maintain the marital intimacy. The participants meant that showing
of affection and carrying out efforts for the relationship are vital and the significant role of one’s
children as a source of happiness, satisfaction and contentment in a married couple’s
relationship. This theme includes three subthemes, namely: a) Exerting Effort to Keep the
Relationship, b) Manifestation of Love and Respect, c.) Children Affect Parental Satisfaction
Exerting Effort to Keep the Relationship. This is about being able to spend quality time
with one’s spouse and children in order to maintain one’s relationship as a couple. This is to put
forth effort in doing something to maintain one’s relationship.
“From time to time pud nga manglaag mi na kami duha or
naa ang duha ka bata.”
("From time to time we would spend the day out together or
we will bring the two kids.”)
P3M described how he spends quality time with his partner and their children by means
of discussing things and updating each other with details to fill in their relationship.
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Manifestation of Love and Respect. This pertains to the act of showing deep affection
and respect with one’s partner in their relationship. Love and respect are the two components that
help the couples sustain the closeness in their marriage. Hence, they perceive love and respect as
the means in making their relationship last longer.
“Respect pirminte kana” “Gatuo man gud ko nga
makapadugay ni og relationship ang sweetness og love sa
usa’t usa”
("Always respect" "I always believed that what keeps the
relationship longer is sweetness and love for each other.")
P3M stated that expressing one’s love, affection, and respect towards one’s spouse can
help make the relationship last.
“Usahay kanang mingawon ko ug kaon sa baboy. Okay ra
man sa iyaha nga magkaon ko ug baboy sa balay pero dili
na lang nako na ginabuhat kay respetar na lang sa ilahang
practice ba, diba?”
("Sometimes, I miss eating pork. It is actually okay for her
for me to eat pork at home, but I chose not to so as to respect
their practice, right?")
P5M said that there are times when he misses eating pork but he still chose not to eat to
show respect towards her spouse’s religious belief.
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Children Affect Parental Satisfaction. This pertains to the role of one’s children as a source of
happiness, satisfaction and contentment in a married couple’s relationship. They give happiness
especially to their parents. Parents also receive satisfaction from their children mainly because
their children provide them comfort especially in the midst of stress.
“Simple ra kaayo mi, basta kay magnirespetuhay lang jud
mi sa usa’g usa. Isa na pud diha ang pag-abot sa among
anak nga nakadala ug kalipay sa amo nga mag-tiayon.”
("We are very simple, as long we just respect each other.
One of it is the presence of our children who brought joy in
our marriage life. ")
P2F shared how simple her family is, as long as respect is being exchanged within their
marriage. She also emphasized how important their child’s role is in keeping the happiness
within their marriage.
Discussion
In an attempt to explore the social phenomenon concerning interfaith marriage, the
researchers came up with nine major themes which were extracted from the data given by the
participants of the study, that is to say: Honouring One’s In-Laws, Marital Conflicts, Marital
Conflict Resolution, Children’s Religious Formation, Perceived Sense of Happiness, Factors
Influencing Psychological Well-Being, Sense of Optimism, and Factors Influencing Marital
Satisfaction. These themes were clustered based on the study’s three variables; couple’s
experiences, well-being, and marital satisfaction.
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Table 1. Experiences, Well-Being and Marital Satisfaction of Couples in an Interfaith

Marriage
Psychological
Experiences Marital Satisfaction
Well-Being
 Honouring
One’s In-
Laws  Factors Influencing
Interfaith  Sense of Marital Satisfaction
On Being Family Optimism i. Children Affect
 Children’s Parental Satisfaction
Both:
Religious
Living
Formation
with
Two  Factors
Religions  Marital Influencing  Factors Influencing
Conflicts Psychological Marital Satisfaction
Interfaith Well-Being i. Exerting Effort to
Couple  Marital Keep the Relationship
Conflict  Perceived ii. Manifestation of Love
Resolution Sense of and Respect
Happiness
The current research has congregated new findings and validated its variables which
could hypothetically influence the marital relationship of couples with different religions. In the
table above, it can be seen that interfaith marriage is viewed as living with two religions and is
divided into two perspectives, namely; as a family and as a couple. Perceiving interfaith marriage
as a family, the participants value or honor their in-laws’ judgment. They also form their
children’s religion through individually sharing their beliefs whereas sense of optimism is, in the
same way evident, as an indicator of psychological well-being. Lastly, children can provide
satisfaction or happiness in the interfaith couple’s relationship. On the other hand, interfaith
marriage from the perspective of couples depicts that participants experience marital conflicts
while manifesting techniques in resolving it. The sense of optimism, sense of happiness and the
factors affecting psychological well-being which are composed of presence of trials and
individual religious practice are considered to correspondingly contribute to the over all
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psychological well-being of couples. Lastly, the factors affecting marital satisfaction which
comprises of the subthemes exerting effort to keep the relationship and manifestation of love and
respect are the way of interfaith couples to maintain their marital satisfaction or in sustaining the
emotional closeness in their marriage.
Experiences of Couples
The results of this study confirmed that in the concept of interfaith marriage, it is widely
acknowledged that the role of in-laws does always come into consideration. In an interfaith
marriage, the matter of acquiring approval from the partner’s family and their tolerance can be an
entirely separate point of discussion even though the partners themselves have accepted each
other’s religious differences (Thaler, 2012). Honoring one’s in-law's results in a happy marriage
since learning as a family plus celebrating together strengthens the marriage and produces family
traditions. In this case, one should not just stop in accepting his or her spouse’s religious beliefs
but rather one has to practice involving oneself in the interfaith family’s celebration and to its
rituals (Keen, 2015). Gaining in-laws approval is an important predictor of marital satisfaction.
According to Schwartz (2016), if it happens that the in-laws are against the interfaith marriage of
the couple, the stage of marriage life might be set for bitterness, misunderstanding, and conflicts,
along with damaging and ongoing consequences of the relationship. A relationship can also be
negatively affected when the partner lacks his or her in-law's acceptance due to the fact that he or
she may establish a decreased sense of well-being and might feel like an outsider which could
eventually result in a dissonance between the couple (Joanides et al., 2002). These literatures
subsequently coincide with the results mentioned above regarding the fact that in-laws play a
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significant role in an interfaith marriage. This implies the notion that in an interfaith marriage,
one should not only deal with his spouse alone but to one’s in-laws as well. This idea rose as it
was seen in the results that having a good relationship with one’s in-laws can result in a happy
marriage.
Marital Conflicts
Based on the results gathered, it showed that marital conflicts; regarding and regardless
of religion, are among the disagreements of the couples in an interfaith marriage. Without a
doubt, every marriage has its own faltering challenges but to those who are engaged in an
interfaith marriage, the challenges have some qualitative extras (Khambali, 2011). As such, the
challenges that these couples may possibly face in their efforts to promote a religious
environment in their homes may be likely greater in amount and are qualitatively dissimilar than
the encounters that single faith couples normally come across (Shaffer, 2008). On the other hand,
the idea that one of the challenges in marriage results from the unequal division of household
chores is well supported by the study of Watson (2004), which says that women tend to put
greater significance on the equality of responsibilities so as to perceive higher marital
satisfaction.
Also, Simpson and Rholes (2002) stated that an unequal sense of responsibility arises
from a couple when they try to take a step of transition to parenthood; with this, the wives
reported that the marital support from their husband tends to decline during their pregnancy up to
the time when they gave birth to their child. This perceived spousal support that tends to lessen
during and after pregnancy then became one of the predictors in the significant drop in marital
satisfaction between the couple. Aside from the unequal sense of responsibility between couples
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in marriage, other circumstances also happen in which the spouses do have different religious
viewpoints. This situation can then affect many aspects which include domestic violence,
struggles in regards to fertility, conflict with one’s spouse or worst is divorce (Sherkat, 2004).
There is a perceived importance in homogamy of faith since couples with differing viewpoints in
life that stems from their religious ideology can hinder or may help in enhancing one’s
endeavours for a positive resolution, depending on the permitted acceptance and change along
marriage (Carter and McGoldrick, 1999). This implies the fact that conflict is inevitable in an
interfaith marriage. As a couple who comes from different beliefs and practices, such conflicts
arise from the differences in their viewpoints and opinions.
Marital Conflict Resolution
The results gathered from the in-depth interview of the participants revealed that there are
various strategies and techniques that couples practice in order for them to resolve their marital
conflicts. Conflicts and disagreements are inevitable in any relationship especially in marriage,
but the conflict itself is not a bad thing. In fact, when it is handled with a non-abusive spirit and
with respect, it can eventually lead to a long lasting and satisfying marriage (Smalley, 2009).
Nonetheless, Faith in God as Marital Support can be supported by the study of Koenig et al.
(2001), which yields that there is a correlation between marital satisfaction of a couple and
religious homogamy even though the nature of the religion itself is uncertain. This would also
mean that a couple from different religions may still develop a meaningful, rich, and a three-
dimensional picture of how families are influenced and how they draw meaning from their
religion if a strong religious belief comes into view between the couple (Dollahite et al., 2004)
since it is one of the dimensions that comprised religion itself (Marks and Dollahite, 2001). This
strategy in resolving marital conflict reminds couples, especially those who are engaged in an
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interfaith marriage, that God's appeal for the family of human being exceeds all religious
boundaries (Cuenin, 2011). The possibility of having a higher marital satisfaction between
interfaith couples may occur as long as they are both congruent in their religious belief (Chintiz,
2001), which then supports the result found in the data gathering which states that interfaith
couples resolve their marital conflicts through apprehending their partner’s religious belief
despite the presence of differences. This acknowledges the fact that a person cannot be in two
different religions at the same time, however, one can be vulnerable and appreciative of the
traditions and religious belief of other people especially of one’s spouse (Cuenin, 2011). These
literatures validate the results of the present study which shows that despite the presence of
differences in an interfaith marriage, belief in the existence of God can help in establishing a
healthy relationship between the couple and their family too. In relation to this, acceptance of
one’s differences is a great factor in sustaining good family relations.
If it happens that joint religious activity seems symbolic, the marital satisfaction increases
(Fiese & Tomcho, 2001). Pasch and Bradbury (1998) also found out that mutual understanding
will dominate in a couple when there is less probability of disrespecting or blaming the partner in
any perspective. Consistent with other research, it was found out that intimacy which is defined
by Koehne (2000) as the intentional closeness to one’s partner or spouse while preserving
separate boundaries to one’s own self, was identified to be one of the predictors of marital
satisfaction for men. This idea then supports the results of the data gathering which states that in
order for a married couple to keep their relationship, the presence of an open communication
with one another is of great help as open communication was also considered to be the strongest
predictor of marital satisfaction for both men and women (Rhoades, 1994). In addition to this, it
was also found out that interpersonal processes and communication between couples were also
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found out to be an important factor in fostering good marital satisfaction (Bradbury et al., 2000;
Greeff, 2000). Couples engaged in an interfaith marriage should put greater emphasis on open
communication since according to Eaton (1994) “if an interfaith couple is able to discuss their
religious differences and respect differing viewpoints and traditions, they are better able to make
constructive use of their dissimilarities, and support “the partners’ development of their
individual religious-spiritual practices and identities, while they create a new blended culture
that expresses their goals and values” (p. 213). This theme then implies the idea that conflicts
are inevitable in marriage and that pursuing an open communication in the relationship can help
a couple who is going through some disagreements with each other.
Children’s Religious Formation
The abovementioned results confirm that interfaith couples tend to form their children’s
religion through permitting or giving them the independence to decide on their spiritual paths
even as couples themselves share their religious principles, individually. The shaping of
children’s religious identity is always an important aspect in the family, most especially with the
children of parents from different religious affiliation. Sherkat (2003) stated that children’s
religiosity is significantly influenced by parents most especially when the parents have common
or shared religious beliefs. Hence, a parent-child religious conversation would likely to occur.
For them, a parent-child conversation is a way of influencing their children to internalize
religious values that would, later on, contribute to their growth and capacity to form their own
religion rather than strictly imposing a specific religion to follow. The participants’ idea that a
child’s internalization of parental religious values has been supported by a bidirectional model,
wherein both the parents and child serve as active agents who constantly influence each other,
religiously. Garland (2002) found that both parents and children play a vital role in shaping faith
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behavior, supporting a link between the bidirectional model and faith behavior. The study of
Boyatzis and Janicki (2003) highlighted that religious conversations between parents and
younger children were usually transactional, characterized by the child taking an active part in
asking questions and ending conversations. Thus, repeated transactional discussions predicted
greater adolescent internalization of parental religious values (Flor & Knapp, 2001).
In addition, Comfort (2004) emphasized that interfaith couples have a tendency to decide
on raising their children in one faith. However, they seek new alternatives that permit them to
share two faiths in one house, nowadays. Romano (2008) highlighted that couples do not deal
with their religious dissimilarities by ‘putting religion in a closet’, because what makes their
unification possible is the fact that they share the same God. Their aim is to find a middle
ground, to reach the other by creating equilibrium between them. Indeed, in an interfaith
marriage with children to religiously nurture, both partners decide on the best way of raising
their children. They usually choose not to give them religious instruction through public
institutions like school (religion class) or parish (catechism), but through letting them experience
religions at home (Aupers, Cechiaro & Houtman, 2016). Thus, parents’ efforts in sharing
religious values to their children enable them to independently choose their own spiritual
identity. Fundamentally, the findings collected by the researchers under this theme are connected
with other researches which highlighted that parent-child religious conversation is more effective
than imposing a specific religion to follow. This theme then implies that the parent’s effort to
arrive at a middle ground can be the best technique in nurturing their children religiously. Even if
couples came from different religious backgrounds and that continuous transactional religious
conversations are present in the family, there is still a greater parental values internalized by
children as long as couples believe in one God.
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Perceived Psychological Well-Being
Perceived Sense of Happiness
The results showed that interfaith married individuals perceived the presence of
happiness in their relationship. For the participants, their marital quality is a combination of
experiencing happiness and at the same time holding on to one’s religious beliefs so as to
overcome the presence of trials. This is supported by the findings of Farahani et al. (2014) which
stated how the importance of religious orientation (set of beliefs, practices, and ritual
communications) can reinforce and strengthen marital relationships. It has been recommended to
strengthen the couple's religious beliefs, that it helps people to resolve conflicts between their
self and spouse. Hence, religious beliefs have a significant impact on family stability. In the
current study, interfaith couples also affirmed that having different religions is not a hindrance to
maintaining one’s relationship with their spouse. This is supported by the findings of Ortega,
Witt & Williams as cited in the study of Farahani et. al. (2014) which concluded that, a greater
difference in religious beliefs and behavior can lead to a higher marital contentment, hence, with
a better psychological well-being. Indeed, past literatures were consistent with the idea that
having a religious orientation can reinforce or strengthen marital relationships despite the
presence of prevailing trials. This implies that inevitable marital attributes are a combination of
both contentment and spousal problems or trials. Correspondingly, these marital attributes could
add to the improvement of marital quality yet it can gradually decrease if problems are not
resolved constructively. In addition, having a religious orientation can help the interfaith couple
to resolve their conflict which can lead to a better marital quality and psychological well-being.
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Factors Influencing Psychological Well-Being
Primarily, the results revealed that participants also deliberate to practice their own faiths
alone. Practicing one’s faith despite religious differences as a couple must then be manifested in
an interfaith marriage. Taking into consideration that Filipinos are considered to have a strongly
held belief in God and they establish a personal relationship with Him by engaging in religious
practices along with living a morally accepted life (Ramos, 2007). As what Astin & Astin (2004)
reported, individuals who have higher religious participation and commitment are more likely to
have a better emotional and mental health. With that, religiosity plays an important aspect in the
life of an individual for it can provide hope in despair and practicing one’s religion can increase
the psychological well-being of an individual (Jain, Joshi & Kumari, 2008). A valuable tool for
conflict resolution such as prayer (Marks, 2005) has also been linked to increased optimism and
psychological well-being (Ai, Peterson, Bolling & Koenig, 2002). These findings support the
view of the respondents on praying as a relief.
Greenfield & Marks (2011) also revealed that religious individuality plays a mediating
role between religious practice and psychological well-being and that spiritual factor is
considered to be important in the explanation of psychological well-being. Spirituality is
conceptualized as a commitment to seek deeper pursuits in life and the pursuit towards an
actualized, sensibly perceived life purpose (Bryant, 2007). Spirituality is also conceived as the
sense of connectedness with a Higher being (Underwood, 2011). This theme is greatly explained
by Carol Ryff’s Model of Psychological well-being in which the participants’ practice of one’s
religion alone is a way of building a positive relationship with others which is one of the
components of Ryff’s Model of Psychological well-being. In the case of the participants, they
perceived that the separate manifestation of their faith can help them make the positive bond
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with their spouses and children, stronger. Hence, there is a sense of contentment, intimate
relationships with others, and understanding the dependencies (Goodharzi, 2014).
Furthermore, the individual religious practice of the participants is their manner of
finding the purpose of their life and afterward, will lead them to their personal growth. Since
according to the account of the participants, they perceived their faith as a means to reflect in
their life in order to gain purpose and consider their past and present experiences as important.
Also, applying their religions could also contribute to their personal growth, which means that
they have a sense of persistent growth to gain new experiences as one of their potential talents
(Goodharzi, 2014). Indeed, the participants’ capabilities to build and strengthen positive relations
with others, to gain purpose in life, and attain personal growth are all indications that they all
have a sense of psychological well-being. Being psychologically well means having an
orientation towards the sacred wherein one is concerned with absolute purpose, significance, and
commitment to a higher power in everyday life (Ivtzan, et. al, 2013). One’s discrete practice of
religion is associated with positive coping, optimism, attaining a meaning in life and perceiving
life as a positive challenge (Goodharzi, 2014). Consequently, among all participants, discretely
practicing one’s faith could provide optimism and positive coping regardless of the hardships in
an interfaith connubial. By this, it can be implied that discrete religious practice is the way of
interfaith couples to still attain personal growth. Their respective religion can provide them the
means to reflect in their life and regain their purpose or meaning. Hence, the separate practice of
their spiritual customs contributes to their overall psychological well-being.
Meanwhile, the results also showed that setbacks or obstacles are all part of the marital
environment. As what has been emphasized beforehand, Perez (2012) existentially defined
psychological well-being and highlighted that a good life is not being free from pain and
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problems. This is due to the fact that one has to live and strive in spite of any difficulties. Hence,
there is a sense of optimism to an individual which is also a predictor of psychological well-
being. The participants emphasized that happiness, marital complications, and trials are what
they consider as marital aspects that are inevitable. Since religiosity is greatly influenced by
one’s psychological well-being, the marital quality can also be linked to psychological well-
being. A study of Proulx, Helms & Buehler (2007) found that marital quality and psychological
well-being were positively connected both simultaneously and over time such that higher levels
of marital quality were linked with better psychological well-being. Hence, religiosity (including
deeply held beliefs) is associated with an increased marital satisfaction and duration, along with
an increased commitment and fidelity (Marks, 2014).
Sense of Optimism
The present study has shown that couples in an inter-faith marriage are enclosed with a
sense of optimism or hopefulness to mend and outdo the trials that they are struggling with.
Certainly, a certain couple in an inter-faith marriage may find it difficult to manage the
matrimonial concerns that are disturbing their psychological well-being or human flourishing. A
vast collection of psychological research revealed that optimism is associated with psychological
well-being and elevated level of life satisfaction. Within the perspective of marriage, optimism is
an individual resource (Fry, 2001). Schneider et al. (2012) have claimed that married individuals
who manifest optimism tend to achieve success in managing marital conflicts compared to
pessimists. Optimism in an interfaith marriage permits an individual to carry out effective coping
strategies along with a higher level of cooperation.
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Optimist individuals in an interfaith marriage find solutions for marital conflicts before
giving up without an effort to make the relationship intact (Chang, 2002). Reyes (2002)
highlighted that optimist persons contain higher psychological well-being and they too have the
tendency to perceive their relationship as more satisfying, in spite of their partner’s
characteristics. This is due to the actuality that pessimists may not be eager to resolve their
marital conflicts as optimists do. Hence, whenever difficulties arise, pessimists may perhaps
suppose that the marriage was maybe not meant to last and that there could be no hope (Reyes,
2002). As one may have thought, many inter-faith marriages can recover from grave marital
challenges (Chang, 2002). Couples that settle on each other to continue being together usually
turn out to be more contented than those who decide to divorce for the reason that lasting
challenges in marriage are unusual (Peterson, 2000). Peterson (2000) besides added that
discontentedly married individuals who evaded divorce became contentedly married again, five
years after to the same partner. Needless to say, these past literatures validate the findings
captured by the researchers of the present study which claims that interfaith couples are hopeful
to fix whatever challenges that they are facing at the moment. This implies that interfaith couples
may manifest a positive mode of coping with their marital conflicts whilst keeping a higher
quality of marriage life. As a result, participants will exhibit a more adaptive behavior of solving
their misunderstandings that are associated with a more enhanced psychological well-being.
Perceived Marital Satisfaction
Factors Influencing Marital Satisfaction
The present study revealed that an inter-faith marriage involves a manifestation of love
and respect that exerts effort and spending time with each other so as to maintain the couple’s
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connection together in a marriage life cycle. At the core of an inter-faith marriage is a mutually
satisfying emotional intimacy involving physical and religious imminence between two people
(Fry, 2001). Couples involved in an inter-faith marriage are engaged in a continuing process that
contains some stages along with transitions which can either destabilize or strengthen their
relationship. Change is certain in this type of marriage and sustaining it is crucial with all the
complications of faith system differences (Bradbury et al., 2004). In an inter-faith marriage, faith
system differences can from time to time get disregarded due to the notion that the foremost
aspect which keeps a couple together is the relationship itself (Becvar, 2003). Despite the fact
that marriages are diverse and specific, a lifelong marriage means that partners are mutually
conveying and experiencing the love and affection of each other. Most importantly, there is the
existence of genuine closeness connecting the couple (Fry, 2001).
In a recent study, Fiese & Tomcho (2001) divulged that even as couples vary in the
quantity of time they spend together, couples engaged in a healthy marriage enjoy each other’s
company. Friendship and finding time to be together are greatly valued in an inter-faith marriage.
This connotes that they have pooled interests and tasks as time spent to be in one's company is
equally sufficient for them (Patsavos and Joanides, 2000). Kaslow and Robinson (1996) also
stated that shared interests in spare time serve as an essential aspect affecting marital satisfaction.
Furthermore, Bradbury et al. (2004) claimed that there is a presence of a range of factors
associated with marital satisfaction. His team recognized that feelings of love, respect,
commitment, along with fidelity are some of the vital aspects implicated in a fulfilling marital
relationship. Consistent with this research, Kaslow and Robinson (1996) recognized that marital
satisfaction is found to be connected to love, respect, trust, and understanding. All the same,
these said studies confirm the results of the aforementioned study as mentioned by the
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researchers. This entails that these mechanisms are the most helpful in sustaining the relationship
of the interfaith couples. As an effect, the couples’ intimacy and marital satisfaction will be
upheld even with their religious differences.
All the same, the present study has shown that children affect the parental satisfaction of
couples in an interfaith marriage by serving as a source of happiness and contentment. All the
same, recent cross-sectional surveys have made known that marital satisfaction declines
gradually at some point on a couple’s first 10 years and marital satisfaction tend to assume a
curvilinear path during this course (Angeles, 2009). The drop in marital satisfaction commences
following the birth of the couple’s children. This is due to the fact that having children alters the
general quality of marital relationship as couples invest much of their time and energy with
upbringing their children (Twenge, Campbell, & Foster, 2003). Contemporary evolutionary
psychologists considered parenting as the top human need in the pyramid so as to reveal its
fundamental role in an individual’s life (Kenrick, Griskevicius, Neuberg, & Schaller, 2010).
Bradbury et al. (2004) recognized that one of the most important dynamics affecting a
couple’s marital satisfaction is parenthood seeing that children have a tendency to enhance
marital stability. This finding was consistent with that of Kohler, Behrman, & Skytthe, (2005)
which emphasized that marital satisfaction and having children at a certain residence are
positively correlated amongst various groups, particularly with those that are married. Reyes
(2002) recognized that in an interfaith marriage, it is imperative to be aware of the reality that
despite the complexities in beliefs and faiths, parents will at all times share an obligation to their
child’s welfare. Also, Nelson (2012) revealed that although children entail a lot of effort and
parenting is not a usual day by day experience, parents regard their children as the most
significant things in their marriage since they perceive the coming of their children as a blessing
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to them. Hence, having children is reported to be associated with an additional positive
emotional experience, a sense of meaning at some point in child care, and a higher level of life
satisfaction (Nelson, 2012). These findings support the emerging evolutionary research that
placed parenting on top of the fundamental human needs (Kenrick et al., 2010). For this reason,
these literatures certify the findings drawn together by the researchers implying that children do
influence a couple’s parental satisfaction. With this, parents may experience an increased level of
marital satisfaction and in the face of their religious distinctions; these couples still regard their
children as a blessing and are one of the grounds for them to stay in the marriage.
Conclusion
The diverse religious heritage of married interfaith couples does not profoundly influence
their marriage. The couples may have differences when it comes to their faith and beliefs, yet,
when it comes to living as a family and as a couple, they are more likely similar with other
families. They too experienced financial, household, and marital challenges. However, these
experiences became an important key to maintaining the marriage of the couple. Their family
and marital difficulties became their source of learning and knowledge, strengthening their
relationship further. Results besides specified that interfaith marriages encompass a few positive
aspects that strengthened the success of their relationship. One of these is their apprehension and
respect concerning their religious differences. This means that couples engaging in an interfaith
marriage have the opportunity to appreciate their spouse’s religion while extending their respect
for their spouse’s practices and beliefs. In the course of misunderstandings, either regarding or
regardless of religion, these couples consider seeking God as a means of solving their marital
conflicts so as to ask for His support in their marriage life. Moreover, interfaith couples are
individually more open and diverse especially with regards to their religious faith and beliefs as
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they are able to observe, appreciate and respect their spouse’s religion. Through these, an
interfaith married couple would have a happy and a meaningful life, leading to a possibility of a
more enhanced marital stability. In general, the study implies that the main reason interfaith
marriages thrived because interfaith couples manifest respect in each other’s difference and at
the same time they were still able to practice their own religion. Furthermore, although interfaith
couples may have religious dissimilarities, they function similarly as what other families do.
Interfaith couples may come from various religious heritage yet as for how they exhibited their
marriage in the society nowadays, they mirror the ideals of a union that is religiously sensitive,
open, and appreciative of the beauty and unity in diversity.
Recommendation
The study’s limitations include the number of participants, the participant’s age bracket,
and their socioeconomic status. Since this study was only conducted in Cagayan de Oro City, the
chance of finding the fit participants might be less available since the number of the target
participants is of scarce. In this case, the researchers highly suggest that it would be better if the
future researchers who will also be interested in the same point of interest will increase the
number of target participants. Having only five (5) couples in a study may not be enough to
represent the whole population, thus, finding participants from other places may be of great help.
In addition to this, the researchers also recommend to include not just the middle adulthood but
also the early adulthood and late adulthood. This is due to the fact that acknowledging a variety
of age bracket may give us further information that could help one identify the whole picture of
the phenomenon. Moreover, the researchers suggest that it might also be helpful if the future
researchers will include participants from low, middle, and high socioeconomic status for them
to be able to grasp a wide variety of data coming from different kinds of participants. The
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researchers also suggest that it might be helpful for the future researchers to control the religion
involved in the study (e.g. Muslim-Catholic) this is for the researchers to dwell deeper in this
kind of interfaith couples. Furthermore, the researchers highly recommend for the future
researchers, to expand their concern or interest on the children of interfaith couples rather than
on focusing on the perspective of the couples with different religions alone. Lastly, since this
study is only limited to the psychological aspect of well-being among the participants, it might
also be of great help if the future researchers would consider having hedonic or subjective well-
being.
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Appendix A
INFORMED CONSENT FORM
I agree to participate in a one-on-one in-depth interview on Interfaith Marriages: Experience,

Marital Satisfaction and Well-Being of Couples with Different Religions.
I understand that my participation is entirely voluntary. I understand that I can withdraw from the
study at any time for any reason, and will not be penalized for doing so. I have read and been
informed about the following points:
1. The purpose of this study is to construct and uncover underlying information of married
couple’s experience, well-being, and satisfaction with different religions. The benefit I may
expect from the study is the opportunity to contribute to scientific research on Interfaith
Marriages, and to gain personal insight about my own experiences.
2. The procedure will involve completing a total of approximately 45 to 90 minutes responding to
the interview questions of the researchers.
3. All of the data collected, including my profile (age, gender, birth order, civil status, social status –
student or working professional, and educational achievement) will remain strictly confidential.
Only people associated with this study will see my data (my responses). This consent form will
be detached from the questionnaire by the researcher and will be stored separately. My data will
not be associated with my name. Instead, my name will be converted to a code number when the
researcher stores the data.
4. The researchers do not foresee any risk to me for participating in this study, nor does he expect
that I will experience any discomfort or stress.
5. I can forward any questions or concerns I have about the study to the researchers whose names
and contact information appear below.
6. Upon completion of my participation, I can request for the results, the rationale, and
expectations underlying this study.
Participant’s Name (Optional) Participant’s Signature Date Signed
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - -
Researchers Contact Information Researcher’s Signature

Abcede, Eloisa Mae 09169162906
Alonto, SittieNur-Ahlia 09278484457
Arandil, Camille 09065802688
Jayson, Shari Angelee 09364429238
Mama, SittieAisah 09064586636
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Appendix B
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
EXPERIENCES
1. How is it like to be a couple in an interfaith marriage?

Bisaya: “Kamusta imong kahimtang sa pakipag-minyo ug tao nga lahi ug
tinoohan?”
Tagalog: “Kamusta ang iyong pagpapakasal sa isang taong may ibang
relihiyon?
2. How did your religious belief or faith influence you in your decision to marry each
other?
Bisaya: “Giunsa pag impluwensya sa imong relihiyon ang imong desisyon

nga mag-minyo?”
Tagalog: “Paano naimpluwensyahan ng iyong relihiyon o pananampalataya
ang iyong desisyon na mag-asawa?”
3. Which faith practices/traditions hold special meaning for you as a couple? Can you
recall a particular time when these practices/traditions really helped your family?
Bisaya: “Unsa nga mga tinuhuan ang nakahatag ug importansya sa inyo
isip manag-tiayon? Makahinumdom ba ka sa panahon kung kanusa
nakatabang ang inyong tinuhuan sa inyong pamilya?”
Tagalog: “Aling gawi sa iyong pananampalataya ang may espesyal na

kahulugan para sa inyo bilang isang pares? Maaari mo bang
gunitain ang isang partikular na panahon kung saan ang mga
kasanayan/mga tradisyon ay talagang nakatulong sa iyong
pamilya?”
4. As parents, how do you share your faith with your children?
Bisaya: “Isip manag-tiayon, gi-unsa ninyo ug pagpa-ambit ang inyong

pagtuo sa inyong mga anak?”
Tagalog: “Bilang mga magulang, paano mo ibabahagi ang iyong

pananampalataya sa iyong mga anak?”
5. What do you consider are the advantages and the disadvantages for engaging in
interfaith marriage?
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Bisaya: “Unsa ang mga kaayuhan ug ang dili nga aspeto sa pakipag-minyo
ug tao nga lahi ug tinoohan?”
Tagalog: “Ano ang mga kalamangan at ang mga kawalan ng pagpasok sa
pagpapakasal sa isang taong may ibang relihiyon?”
6. All couples have conflict. Are there ways that your religious beliefs or practices help
avoid or reduce marital conflict? In what ways?
Bisaya: “Ang mga mag-tiayon, adunay dili pag-sinabtanay. Naa ba’y

pamaagi nga ang inyong pagtuo nakatabang sa paglikay sa
7. problema isip mag-tiayon? Sa unsang pamaagi?”
8.
Tagalog: “Ang lahat ng mag-asawa ay may hindi pagkakaunawaan. Mayroon
bang paraan na ang iyong mga relihiyosong paniniwala o gawi ay
7 nakatulong upang maiwasan o mabawasan ang hindi
pagkakaunawaan? Sa anong paraan?”
7. What are the problems arising in your day to day life as a couple? How do you deal with
these?
Bisaya: “Unsa ang mga problema na kanunay ninyo gina-atubang sa pang-
adlaw-adlaw na kinabhui isip mag-asawa? Gina-unsa ninyo ug
sulbad ni-ining mga problema?”
Tagalog: “Ano ang mga kadalasang problema na iyong kinakaharap sa pang-
araw-araw bilang mag-asawa? Paano mo ito hinaharap?”
1. How is your relationship as a couple? Are you satisfied with it?

Bisaya: “Kamusta ang inyong relasyon isip usa ka mag-asawa? Kuntento
ba ka ni-ini?”
Tagalog: “Kamusta ang iyong relasyon bilang mag-asawa? Kuntento ka ba
dito?”
2. How do you keep or maintain your relationship as a couple?

Bisaya: “Giunsa ninyo pagmintinar ang inyong relasyon isip manag-
tiayon?”
Tagalog: “Paano mo pinapanatili o mapapanatili ang inyong relasyon bilang
mag-asawa?”
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3. How would you describe your family life? What do you do to maintain a well-balanced
family life?
Bisaya: “Unsaun nimo pag-hulagway ang inyong pamilya? Unsa nga mga
pamaagi ang inyong gina-himo para mamintinar ang kabalanse sa
inyong pamilya?”
Tagalog: “Paano mo ilalarawan ang iyong buhay pamilya? Ano ang
ginagawa mo upang mapanatili ang isang balanseng buhay may
pamilya?”
WELL- BEING
1. How can you describe the present state of your marriage?

Bisaya: “Unsa imong maingon bahin sa estado sa imong kaminyuan
karon?”
Tagalog: “Paano mo mailalarawan ang kasalukuyang estado ng iyong buhay
may asawa?”
2. Can you say that your previous expectations before marriage have been met at present? In
what ways?
Bisaya: “Maka-ingon ba ka na ang imong mga ekspektasyon bag-o ka

gikasal kay natamo nimo karon na gikasal na ka? Sa unsa na mga
pama-agi?
Tagalog: “Masasabi mo bang ang iyong mga ekspektasyon bago ka ikinasal
ay nakamit mo sa ngayon? Sa anong mga paraan?”
3. Considering all your experiences about faith and marriage, how are you as a couple right
now?
Bisaya: “Taliwala sa imong mga naagian, kamusta mo karon?”

Tagalog: “Sa kabila ng lahat ng iyong karanasan, kamusta ka ngayon?”
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Appendix C
EXPERT’S CREDENTIALS
CHARITO B. FERRER, PhD, RGC, RPm
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION
PhD in Guidance and Counseling, San Pedro College, Davao City (on-going)
PhD in Education, Xavier University (2009)
MS Educational Measurement & Evaluation, De La Salle University, Manila (2000)
MA Education major in Guidance & Counseling, Xavier University (1999)
BSE (Prof. Ed.), Xavier University (2009)
BS major in Psychology, University of San Agustin, Iloilo City (1982)
PROFESSIONAL LICENSES (PRC)

Registered Guidance Counselor (RGC)
Professional Teacher (LET)
Registered Psychometrician
SPECIAL TRAINING/ EXPERTISE
Crisis Intervention Counseling/ Psychotherapy (Trauma, Abused, etc)
Marriage and Family Counseling
Test Construction and Item Analysis
Individual and Group Testing (Psychological Reporting)
Program/ Module Development (Counseling and Testing/ Training Workshop)
Research/ Thesis and Dissertation Mentoring
Community Counseling/ Psychological First Aid
MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association (PGCA- National)
- Regular Member
Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association 10 (PGCA X)
- Regular member/ Chapter President
Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP)
- Associate Member
Philippine Mental Health Association (PMHA)- CdO and Mis. Oriental Chapter
- Board Member and Volunteer Counsellor
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Appendix D
CASE STUDIES OF PARTICIPANTS
COUPLE 1
PARTICIPANT 1- MALE PARTICIPANT 1- FEMALE

Religion: Baptist Religion: Roman Catholic
Age: 47 years old Age: 44 years old
Occupation: Businessman Occupation: Office Worker
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Couple one is engaged in an interfaith marriage for 15 years. P1 Male is a forty-seven-
year-old Baptist of middle socioeconomic status and was born in the year 1969. Prior to his
marriage with her present wife, he resides in a small city at Bukidnon. P1 Male’s parents do live
together and he claims to have established a fine relational connectedness among his siblings.
Nonetheless, P1 Male remained to manage his auto parts store within Cagayan de Oro so as to
support his present family’s needs. On the other hand, P1 Female is a forty-four-year-old Roman
Catholic of middle socioeconomic status and was born in the year 1972. She grew up in the
vicinity of Cagayan de Oro and is the youngest of her two siblings. Unfortunately, her parents
separated when she was younger due to her father’s infidelity. On that note, P1 Female stayed
with her mother until she met her husband. Nevertheless, P1 Female’s father continually acted as
the provider of their family until P1 Female got married and worked as an office worker.
Thus far, P1 Male and P1 Female met each other through a common friend who happens
to be P1 Female’s officemate. P1 Male pursued her and every day, he would wait for P1 Female
patiently to accompany her for work. Given a few commonalities and his attitude of making P1
Female believe that she is special, eventually, they turned out to be official. Although P1 Male
has been through a lot of relationships, P1 Female’s friends enlightened her that he is a good
man. P1 Male besides reassured P1 Female that he will continue to court her from time to time,
even after she said ‘Yes’. Yet as a consequence of some unforeseen events, P1 Female got
pregnant at the age of 28, eight months after their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend. Worry
and negativity conceded through their minds as they were afraid to let their families be informed
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of their situation. There is a huge accountability waiting ahead of them and it became a struggle
for P1 Male and P1 Female since this means that they have to get married as soon as possible. P1
Male and P1 Female got married in a civil wedding given the differences that they have
regarding religion. P1 Female initially wanted it to become a church wedding but in view of the
fact that it was not possible, she had to agree with the idea. Both of their families had no
problems as regards the marriage though the two had different faiths. During their first few
months as a married couple, P1 Female affirmed that her in-laws were a huge part as to why she
chooses to participate in her husband’s faith practices sometimes, given that P1 Male’s father is a
deacon in their church and is very active with evangelical activities. Other than that, P1 Female
asserted that as to practicing her faith as a Catholic, she has a preference to do such alone for the
reason that she gets distracted thinking about P1 Male’s view during a Catholic mass. The couple
was then blessed with one daughter who has followed by two other sons a few years after.
According to P1 Female, they decided as a couple that they will give their children the freedom
to choose which religion they would like to belong in. This is caused by their choice to not
enforce their individual religion to their children, appearing as if they are forced to believe on
such. Herewith, the couple then shares their faith to their children, separately.
Nevertheless, the couple also went through with disagreements given that there are no
means to escape such in any married couple’s life. P1 Female held that their conflicts are
sometimes due to where they would celebrate the Eucharist as a family. On the other hand, P1
Male claimed that their conflicts are also caused by financial difficulties as his business does not
constantly have a big profit. Apart from this, P1 Male’s indolence is also a factor of their
conflicts and this was confirmed by P1 Female since according to her, the household
responsibilities are at all times handled by her. With that, P1 Female stated that while it is must
for the both of them to help each other, she does not witness such in their relationship.
Nonetheless, seven years after their marriage, P1 Male suddenly changed into someone that she
does not know. P1 Male engaged into an excessive use of alcohol in addition to his utilization of
drugs, particularly methamphetamine. During the birth of their third child, P1 Female had to
even call her husband’s attention to set off to the hospital as at that point, he was yet again
engaging in substance use. P1 Female remained to be an optimist, expecting him to change
gradually. Without a doubt, P1 Male’s substance use was the crucial point of their marriage. In
the meantime, P1 Female asserted that at some point in their conflicts, there was a time when
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they would unintentionally spot each other inside the Catholic Church and they would converse
there after a period of being silent together. The couple also considers praying as an important
tool in handling their conflicts. According to P1 Female, their marriage has complications as she
even emphasized that her life as a Catholic alone would be much better. P1 Female’s children are
her only source of happiness in line with her notion that she does not experience happiness with
her husband to any further extent. In addition, P1 Male claimed that he is thankful for her
children’s presence in their family. He claimed that he accepts the present situation of their
marriage life and that he understands his wife. Even so, P1 Male is still hopeful that they would
be able to fix their relationship as for him; their conflicts are not solely caused by their different
religious beliefs but are due to their experiences instead
COUPLE 2
Religion: Jehovah’s Witnesses Religion: Roman Catholic
Occupation: Agricultural Manager Occupation: Entrepreneur
Couple two is engaged in an interfaith marriage for 10 years. P2 Male was 40 years old
and P2 Female was 39 years old when they first met each other. During the first interview, the
couple explained how dedicated and preoccupied they were with their own careers that it took
several years for them to entertain the idea of marrying someone. P2 Male is an agricultural
manager and is working on the production of crops, animals, and plants for almost fifteen years.
On the other hand, P2 Female spent almost 10 years working abroad as a caregiver and is
currently an entrepreneur. Both of them were able to satisfy their family’s needs and was able to
save up for their future. With this, before the couple met each other, they are individually stable
and accomplished.
The couple was individually hard-working and persistent. As they gradually achieved
their career goals and have helped their own families, they forgot about their own lives. P2 Male
never had a romantic relationship with the opposite sex. He was regarded as a shy person
especially when socializing with women. With this, P2 Male decided to focus on his profession
75 | P a g e
and accomplished his goals. Oppositely, P2 Female had worked in many different countries as a
caregiver. She spent ten years working, but not like P2 Male, she had several romantic
interracial relationships with the opposite sex. However, all her previous relationships ended in
no time due to cultural misunderstandings. P2 Female is regarded as the complete opposite of her
husband as she had a lot of friends and can easily build friendships and associations with
different people. According to the couple, they met through a common friend. They were
introduced and their friendship grew into a much deeper relationship. All throughout their dating
period, they both knew about their religious differences yet it was never an issue for them, not
until P2 Male’s family invited P2 Female to worship with them. P2 Female was religiously open
even though she came from a religious family. According to her, the experience of meeting
various people from various culture and religion enabled her to understand and respect other
cultures and beliefs. P2 Female responded positively to the invitation. She went to their church
but she just sat in the corner, observing and listening. With this, she gained a positive impression
from P2 Male’s family. According to P2 Male, his family praised P2 Female for accepting their
invitation and for respecting their religion amidst their differences. However, when it was P2
Female’s turn to invite P2 Male for a celebration of a certain festival, P2 Male did not arrive. He
declined the invitation due to their religious belief. According to P2 Male, their religion
discourages the belief of saints and other forms of idolatry. This excuse was very offensive for
P2 Female and for her family. This triggered their very first quarrel. Yet, after that experience,
P2 Male learned to respect P2 Female’s religion and later on, both of them are respecting each
other’s religious beliefs and practices. However, this openness to other religion was perceived by
each of their families as something bold and unacceptable especially with the strong religious
fundamentalism of both families.
After a year, the couple decided to get married amidst their families’ disagreement. It was
a difficult period for them as both their families are against their marriage. P2 Female even
rejected the proposal of P2 Male’s family which is to convert into their religion. However,
because of the couple’s determination to receive the sacrament of matrimony, P2 Male consulted
his Church Leader about their marriage. Unfortunately, his Church Leader did not accept the idea
of pronouncing them as husband and wife especially that they came from different religions and
Jehovah’s Witnesses really do discourage interfaith marriage. Yet, P2 Male’s Church leader
reminded him of the consequences of marrying someone from a different religion. According to
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their beliefs, a Jehovah’s Witness who marries someone who is a non-Jehovah’s Witness will be
incapable of teaching and preaching the Bible. This was very difficult for P2 Male as he really
has strong a religious identification. Yet, even with so much to sacrifice, P2 Male still chose to
marry P2 Female. They got married in a Catholic Ceremony. Close friends and some relatives
attended the celebration. This was somehow difficult for the couple knowing that their
immediate family members were not there to support their union. However, this encouraged the
couple to prove to their families that having different religions cannot hinder their union.
The couple was then blessed with one daughter. P2 Female explained that her daughter
has not yet chosen her own religion. The couple decided to share their own religious beliefs and
practices to their daughter, and the religion that she will follow will all depend on her.
According to their daughter, being in a family which has different religious perspectives is
actually an advantage as her knowledge is much more extensive and diverse. P2 Male even
stated how proud he is with his daughter as she turned out to be a religiously sensitive person.
Also, their daughter agreed that her parents’ religion may have differences but most of their
beliefs and practices are somehow similar and that their religions are all directed to a one Divine
Being. The presence of their daughter has healed their families’ disagreements. Their daughter
has opened their families’ positive outlook on interfaith marriage. With this, the couple’s
families have understood the beauty in diversity especially that both religions share similar
beliefs. This brought their whole family in unity and respect.
As a couple, conflicts are always present for additional spice on their relationship.
However, this interfaith couple may be expected to have conflicts caused by their religious
differences but surprisingly, their usual conflicts are caused by the imbalanced division of their
household chores. According to P2 Female, she usually does the chores while her husband never
does anything after coming from work. In addition, as the couple was gradually exposed to the
different religious practices of one another. P2 Female initially had difficulty in worshiping as
she needs to worship with religious statues and her husband, P2 Male, initially does not allow her
to place those statues in their house. For this reason, the couple underwent challenging
adjustments. These situations do trigger the clash and the conflicts in the couple’s relationship.
Fortunately, the couple stated that they try to fix their conflicts by keeping an open
communication. They talk and discuss their issues before the day ends. The couple also added
that this practice was also encouraged by both of their religions. In addition, with regards to their
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different religious beliefs, they handled this through manifesting their religions separately. As P2
Female explained, she worships with religious statues while her husband worships by reading the
Bible. They may have different practices and beliefs, but they gradually learned how not to
forbid one another in fulfilling their own spiritual responsibilities. They allow one another to
profess their own religion. P2 Female elaborated that in any kind of marriage, conflicts really
arise and it is up for the couple to handle it.
Many people have wondered how they kept their relationship happy in the middle of
dissimilarities, P2 Female elaborated that in any kind of marriage, misunderstandings, and
differences will really arise. For them, they handled it through conversing. As long as they
never give up on each other amidst the upcoming trials, they will never lose each other. With
everything that the couple had experienced, they still perceived their marriage as a blissful one.
They also embraced the idea of facing incoming trials and challenges, yet despite all of these,
they chose to stick to their marriage. They may initially unpredicted such union with someone
from a different religion, yet the couple declared that being engaged in an interfaith marriage
brought happiness and contentment in their own lives. In the present, the couple stated how
satisfied they were even if they came from different religious backgrounds as they had filled
their union with love, respect, and understanding especially when they deal with each another’s
differences.
COUPLE 3

Religion: Roman Catholic Religion: Jehovah’s Witnesses
Occupation: Marketing Agent Occupation: Sales Office Worker
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The third couple got married in the year 2008 and has been together for eight (8) years
with two children; a two-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter. P3 Female is a thirty-eight-
year-old sales office worker and is currently affiliated with the religion, Jehovah’s witnesses. P3
Male whose age is forty-five-year-old works as a marketing agent and is religiously affiliated
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with the Roman Catholic. The participants are currently living in Cagayan de Oro with their
children and are both working in the same company situated in the city.
P3 Male and P3 Female knew each other since their fifth grade. From that time, they have
already shared significant recollections together, considering also that P3 Male was an old mate
of P3 Female’s older brother. After graduating in elementary, different paths along with time
placed distance between them and they ended up not hearing about each other. Time flew as the
both of them have already finished their studies; they have found themselves adding each other
on Facebook. Since then, they have exchanged messages, calls, and as well as dates until they
decided to become official. Yet just like any other ordinary relationship, couple three also went
through with a lot of up’s and down’s particularly in getting their in-laws’ approval since they
belong to different religions. However, the couple remained resilient enough to work willingly
on their relationship. P3 Male recalled that his in-laws were so firm in their belief on letting their
daughter get married to someone who has the same religion that they are practicing. In the end,
after all the courage in fighting for one’s dearest in the midst of odds, fate favored the couple and
they decided to get married as things got settled between their in-laws, after a seven-month
relationship.
In the first years of their marriage, priorities were changed from the time when their
children came as the new members of their family. Couple three even set aside what they want as
they began to prioritize things that are needed for the family. When it comes to forming their
children’s religious identity, couple three prefers to educate them individually. In this way, they
can inculcate learning in their children and they can achieve religious consciousness that will
help them decide which faith they would like to affiliate. Hence, they exercise the freedom of
their children as regards to which faith practices they want to connect.
Furthermore, adjustments and conflicts are also obvious especially with their diverse religious
backgrounds. Couple three even emphasized during the interview that the first five years of their
marriage was the stage where disagreements were frequent and they consider it as the stage of
development where they were able to mature as a couple. One of the main problems faced by
couple three, specifically in the case of P3 Female, was affirming her in-law’s religious belief.
According to her, there are certain practices in the Roman Catholic that are not celebrated in
Jehovah’s witnesses, particularly Christmas and All Soul’s day. Despite these constraints in faith
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practices, P3 Female managed to get along with her in-laws, for, in her perspective, she does not
want to be rude.
Moreover, the capacity to outlay money and the perceived equality in household chores
are the typical problems encountered by the third couple in their day-to-day marriage life. For
them, they are also having a hard time handling their finances and sometimes, P3 Male can be
inactive on doing the household responsibilities due to his overtiredness from work. This leads to
leaving all the household responsibilities to P3 Female which was viewed by her as unfair on her
end.
Overall, couple three has been capable of controlling their religious differences and
marital conflicts through keeping an open communication as this helped them in arriving at a
unified decision on how they will make their relationship work. The third couple has this certain
technique in handling their marriage and that is; they never let the day ends without talking about
their problems because for them a problem should not be left unsolved until sunrise. Certainly,
the participants even described the present state of their marriage as strong. P3 Male and P3
Female claimed that they matured due to their experiences and most of all; they are happy and
contented with each other.
COUPLE 4

Religion: Islam Religion: Roman Catholic
Occupation: Radio Technologist Occupation: Teacher
Couple four is engaged in an interfaith marriage for 17 years with 6 children; 3 males and
3 females. P4 Male is a fifty-three-year-old follower of Islam while P4 Female is a forty-seven-
year-old follower of Christianity. The couple is open and allows their children to choose
whatever religion they want to engage in. Presently, they have four (4) children (3 males and 1
female) who voluntarily follow Islam and the other two (2) females follow Christianity as their
religion. Back when they were still a newly-wed couple, they stayed at Malabang, Lanao del Sur,
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yet, they chose to transfer in Cagayan de Oro City after a few years. P4 Male is a college
graduate and a registered radio technologist while his wife is a licensed teacher.
The couple both attended their college years at the University of San Carlos in Cebu and
there they had known each other as their story begun. P4 Male courted P4 Female which took
him almost 3 months. During these times, P4 Female had no idea that P4 Male is seeing three
other girls besides her since P4 Male kept it as a secret. P4 Male often visits the church for
almost 6 times a day given that he always accompanies his girlfriends every time one attends to a
mass. Despite this, P4 Male considers P4 Female as his only serious relationship while the others
are just for fun. After four years in college, they both graduated together. Thereafter, P4 Male
decided to tell P4 Female that he is a Muslim. As P4 Female knew about it, she was so shocked
because all this time she did not know that she is dating a Muslim man. But despite that, they
accepted their differences and still continued their relationship. Days passed and some things
changed; P4 Male wants to break off the relationship because he will be going to Manila to take
his board examination. With this, P4 Female decided to also fly to Manila. Right after the board
examination of P4 Male, they decided to just elope because they do not want to break their
relationship anymore. The parents of P4 Female had no idea that she was in Manila at that time
as they thought that she is staying in Cebu. P4 Male and P4 Female eloped for almost 7 months.
But unexpected happenings had occurred, P4 Female got pregnant and at that time, they do not
know what to do. With this, they decided to go back to Lanao where the family of P4 Male was
living to get some support. P4 Female only told her sisters about her pregnancy since she knew
that she cannot tell it to her parents because they will be angry and disappointed. Even so, her
parents knew about it and just like what she predicted, her parents got really angry and
disappointed. P4 Male decided to marry P4 Female because of their situation and his family
planned all the wedding along with shouldering the expenses.
During the year 2000, their first baby was born. Considering that the couple does not
have any job at that time, P4 Male decided to work in their hacienda as a driver to support his
family financially. P4 Female thought that being a driver cannot fully support their family, so she
voluntarily applied his husband for a job. She took the initiative to apply on behalf of her
husband. Also, P4 Female applied for a job as a teacher.
As the time went by, their relationship encountered conflicts, just like having
misunderstandings on some practices in their religion. P4 Male does not want his wife to eat
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pork inside their house or any food that contains some pork considering that he follows Islam
and as a Muslim, he is prohibited to eat pork. With this, P4 Male only allowed his wife to eat
pork outside and not in their house. P4 Male does not also want his wife to put an altar at their
home. In order for the conflicts to be resolved, P4 Female just gave way and obeyed her
husband. She occasionally eats pork, but literally, does not eat pork when she is with her
husband and when she is at home. Also, instead of having altars at home, she just prayed on her
own. During Christmas, P4 Male declared that he is fine with having a Christmas tree at their
house. Aside from these conflicts about practices in religion, personal conflicts were also
present as P4 Male had thought of having another wife. The moment P4 Female knew about it,
she was in deep pain. All this time, she thought that everything is fine but she was wrong. P4
Female was so disappointed and she started to not talk to him anymore and acted like she does
not care. P4 Male was bothered about it and he realized that nobody can be enough for him other
than his wife. Couple four emphasized that understanding each other’s differences, discussing
each other’s issue about life, and respecting each other are the ways to avoid conflicts.
Considering that couple four is engaged in an interfaith marriage, praying individually can also
help in strengthening their bond. According to them, presently, they are happy and satisfied with
their children and with their life as an interfaith married couple.
COUPLE 5
Religion: Roman Catholic Religion: Church of God Seventh Day
Occupation: RTA Head Officer Occupation: Head Nurse
Couple five is engaged in an interfaith marriage for 5 years with a four-year-old son.
They are residing in Cagayan de Oro City since their works are in the city too. P5 Male is a
thirty-nine-year-old RTA Head Officer and is a devoted Roman Catholic who spends some of his
leisure time at the Monastery. As he did grow up in a monastery, it may not be surprising that he
is used to visiting the Catholic Church. On the other hand, P5 Female is thirty-six-year-old Head
Nurse and was born as a Roman Catholic. However, due to the influence of his father in their
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family, she was converted to a Church of God Seventh Day when she was six years old. With
this, she grew up looking up to the teachings, beliefs, and practices of her present religion.
Unlike the typical love story that people may usually encounter, couple five comes with a
unique twist. Before they met each other, both of them were broken hearted from their long-time
relationship exes. As it became hard for the both of them to move on from their painful past, they
decided to look for a partner in a Dating App. With the help of the Dating App, P5 Male was
able to date different kinds of woman, yet, none of them worked out. As P5 Male tries to look for
a compatible partner in the App, there she met P5 Female who is a newbie to such thing. As they
tried to get to know each other, P5 Male realized that P5 Female possesses the qualities that he is
trying to look for in a woman. As the time went by, they apparently fell in love with each other.
Knowing that they came from different religions and that the both of them are religious, it still
did not become a hindrance for them to not love each other. Instead, they tried to adjust for their
differences which made their relationship stronger. In addition to this, the couple identified their
relationship as strong given that P5 Male never fails to show how much he loves P5 Female.
Five months after they became official, couple five decided to marry each other. While it
was easy for them to accept their religious differences, the people around them were not
especially the family of P5 Male. This is because his family thinks that he might convert into P5
Female’s religion which is different from their own. However, adjustments were made as they
entered the world of marriage. Since P5 Female only celebrates Christmas Day and not All
Saint’s Day and All Souls Day, P5 Male spends this Christian event with his family only. During
their first year anniversary, it became their first time to celebrate Christmas together. The period
of adjustments for them was not hard since they already realized the fact that they do have
differences when it comes to religious beliefs and practices. However, they also have to get
along with their in-laws as they tried to attend some of their practices such as mass and many
other events. Aside from this, it also became hard for them to find time with each other due to
their work schedule. Since P5 Male works in the middle of the night while P5 Female works
during the day, they barely see one another. However, P5 Male adjusted to this by requesting to
change his work schedule so as to have some time with P5 Female. Monetary conflict is also
present in their relationship although they consider it as a minor one.
Moreover, couple five also came to a point where they questioned the religion of one
another which challenged their faith. Since the both of them are truly devoted to their own
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religion, they also argue when it comes to defending their own religion. Other than that, they also
have to pray on their own and there was a time where P5 Male had to sacrifice eating pork in
their house because of his wife. Nonetheless, it did not become a reason for them to let go of
each other.
In line with their conflicts, the couple believes that every problem comes with a solution.
By this, they learned that they have differences, and for them to solve the conflicts regarding
their religion, they should understand and apprehend the religion of one another. There were also
times when they use the verses and teachings of their Bible when they argue. In that way, they
will be able to apply the teachings of their own belief. Couple five also realized that religion is
not a hindrance for them to love each other as what matters most is that the both of you believes
in the existence of God. As time went by, couple five decided to visit the church of one another
in order for them to understand each other’s religion and to lessen their conflict. With regards to
their practices, P5 Female is allowing P5 Male to eat pork in their house but P5 Male did not do
so because it is a matter of showing respect to her wife’s religious practices.
Today, they consider themselves as a happy couple. As testified by P5 Male, their
marriage is full of love, full of life and full of inspiration. As a couple, they perceive their future
life as full of challenges but at the same time, full of inspiration as well.
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Appendix E
ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS
THEMES DEFINITION SUBTHEMES DEFINITION
This relates to how the

HONOURING ONE’S IN-LAWS
couples in an inter-faith
marriage give importance to
their in-laws’ viewpoint
regarding marriage along
with practicing some of their
religious practices as a way
of respect. This means that
an individual seeks the
approval of one’s in-laws for
marriage in spite of religious
differences.
This pertains to the

couples’ frequent
Religious Marital arguments about their
Conflict respective religion, in
MARITAL CONFLICTS
These are the conflicts, accordance with religious

regarding and regardless of differences.
religion, experienced by the
couples in their day-to-day
living that causes
These are the inevitable
disagreements between
challenges in any married
them.
couples’ life, such as the
Challenges in
insufficient capacity to
Marriage
outlay money and
inequality of household
chores.
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The participants highly

believed that discussing
Keeping an open
their issues is a better way
communication
to solve the conflicts that
they are currently facing.
MARITAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION
The participants consider

seeking God as a means of
This pertains to the Faith in God as solving their marital
strategies and various ways marital support conflicts so as to ask for
in which the couples resolve God’s support in their
conflicts in their marriage marriage life.
life.
This pertains to how the

participants engaging in
an interfaith marriage
have the opportunity to be
Openness
exposed from their
towards religious
spouse’s religion given the
diversity
fact that they are both
open and willing to accept
each other’s religious
differences.
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The participants
acknowledged the idea of
allowing their children to
choose their own religion
CHILDREN’S RELIGIOUS FORMATION
Child’s freedom to amidst the religious

choose one’s differences of the couple.
religion They gave their children
the independence to decide
This pertains to the spiritual without intervening with
shaping and growth of the their children’s religious
child’s religious identity from paths.
individual religious beliefs
shown by the parents.
Participants’ tendency to
individually introduce and
Individual
share their own religious
sharing of
beliefs to their children
religious belief
whilst considering other
religious ideas and beliefs.
PERCEIVED SENSE OF HAPPINES
The participants have a

sense of happiness in their
relationship with their
spouse. They were able to
acknowledge the fact that
this sense of happiness is
partly due to the notion that
their spouse was able to
fulfill their expectations on
marriage.
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The participants
recognized the presence of
complications in their
relationship with their
spouse. They are also
determined the existence of
Presence of trials
FACTORS INFLUENCING PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
conflicts and regarded it as

normal in a married
couple’s relationship. They
The theme generally pertains also expressed their views
to the factors that affects the about resolving these
psychological well-being of conflicts right away.
the participants such as their
adherence to their each and
own religion amidst couple’s The adherence of each
religious differences for the spouse to his or her own
reason of considering their religion amidst couple’s
spouse’s religious religious differences. This
perspectives and recognizing means that participants
the presence of prefer practicing their
complications in their religious faith and beliefs
relationship and regarded it alone by the reason of
as normal in a married considering their spouse’s
couple’s relationship. religious perspectives.
Individual
Despite the differences in
Religious Practice
religion, the participants
are practicing it carefully
in their own little ways.
The obedience of each
spouse to his or her own
religion despite their
differences in religion is
somewhat a way wherein
they find respect in each
other.
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This relates to the inter-faith

married couple’s sense of
hopefulness to mend and
outdo the trials that they are
facing in their situation of
engaging in an inter-faith
marriage. Even so, they are
SENSE OF OPTIMISM
hopeful that they can fix

whatever challenges that
they are facing at the
moment. They also conceded
the possibility of upcoming
challenges in their
relationship, making them
determined to face it without
giving up. The participants
are continually working on
their relationship so as to
prevent past negative
experiences from being
repeated.
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Being able to spend quality

time with one’s spouse and
children in order to
maintain one’s
relationship as a couple.
FACTORS INFLUENCING MARITAL SATISFACTION
This is to put forth effort in

Exerting effort to doing something to
keep the maintain one’s
This pertains to the factors relationship
relationship.
that affects the participants’
marital satisfaction such as
the manifestation of love and
respect that includes effort
and spending time with each
other so as to maintain the
marital intimacy. Also, the
significant role of one’s This pertains to the act of
children as a source of Manifestation of showing deep affection and
happiness, satisfaction and love and respect respect with one’s partner
contentment in a married in their relationship.
couple’s relationship.
This pertains to the role of

one’s children as a source
Children Affect
of happiness, satisfaction
Parental
and contentment in a
Satisfaction
married couple’s
relationship.
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Appendix F
ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS WITH VERBATIM

THEME SUBTHEME PARTICIPANT VERBATIM
EXPERIENCES
Pero usahay kay ga-give way ko, didto
P1
gyud ko maka-simba sa ilaha para
Male lang sa iyang mama ug papa
Gaka-dala rapod ko sa iyang mama ug

papa kay ang iya mang papa deacon
P1 then mga kuan kaayo sa simbahan ba,
Female active. So kinahanglan jud na kanang,
ayha rami mag-simba kung musulti
iyang mama ug papa
HONOURING ONE’S IN-LAWS
Kay kanang iyang mama kay hesitant

kayo ba, Kay sa jehovah’s witnesses
(wife’s religion) dapat kay.. unsa’y
P3
tawag ana? Mag minyo lang gud og
Male parehas og relihiyion. Nagtuo man sila
nga parehas og relihiyion kay
magkasinabut gud ba
Pagabot sa akong in laws galisud
dayun ko kay daghan man gyud dili
pwede, dili ko pede mka celebrate og
Christmas. Mga tradition, galisod ko
P3
ba. Ulaw pud bya nga mubalibad.
Female Syempre nagdako ko sa lahi nga
traditions. Galisud dayun ko kay
daghan man gyud dili pwede sa ako na
ilang gina-practice.
Siguro ang katong nag minyo mi kay
naghuna-huna ko ba if madawat ba ko
P5 nila isip isa ka katoliko, sa family nila
Male especially sa iyahang ate kay wala
naman silay father.. pero nadawat
japun ko
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Okay ra man. Kuan lang, naa lang

gyud siyay kanang parte sa kanang
P1
mag-simba mi. Kanang mag-bikil mi
Female kung asa mi mag-simba, kung didto ba
sa ila o dili
P5 Ang disadvantage lang gyud kay

Female pagkaon.
Ang disadvantage kay ang akong

P2 husband kay dili musugot magbutang
Religious Female ko ug artal ug mga santos unya
Marital Conflict mahiubos jud ko ana ba.
Pag-abot sa traditions galisud dayun
ko kay daghan man gyud dili pwede,
P3
dili ko pwede maka-celebrate ug
MARITAL CONFLICTS
Female Christmas. Mga tradition, galisod ko

ba.
Naay times magka misunderstanding
mi sa among mga tinuohan kay
P5
magsige mi ug defend sa among mga
Male own religion pero gakasettle ra man
sad namo.
Kuan sad, kwarta. Naa pa jud gihapon.
Kanang sa gastuhon, wala kaayo koy
matabang kay gamay raman usahay
akong kita sa shop.
P1
Male Ang akong pagka-tapulan. Hahaha.
Tapulan jud ko bai, kuan man ni siya,
dili siya angay i-justify kay tapulan jud
Challenges in
ko
Marriage
Kana bitawng ang amo jung pirminti
gina-awayan sa balay is kani jung
P2
pagtrabaho. Dapat mag divide mi sa
Female trabaho sa balay pero ang gakahitabo
kay dili
P3 Usahay kanang finances
Female Usahay gusto man ni sya og relax gud
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pag abot sa balay, wala ni sya’y

pakialam. Cellphone-cellphone ra
unya ako tuyok-tuyok, kuan sa bata,
duha ka bata. Hinlo ana, balik balik
kusina. Mag-kwenta og trabaho dire
sa balay. Pero mag storya jud mi
Ay ang number one na problem
naming talaga, primero no, ay
P4
financial talaga. Yan ang number one.
Female Hindi na namin iniisip yang mga, yung
mga about religion
P5 Ang one thing in common siguro nga
Male problem sa couple is money
P2 Sa among simbahan, isa sa mga
Male gitudlo kay ang pag-isturyahay.
Istoryahun, aron kung unsa ma’y mga
P2
problema sulod sa pamilya, sturyahon
Female aron masulbad.
MARITAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION
P3
Istoryaan lang namo, communication.
Keeping an Male
Open P3 Magcommunicate kanang usahay
communication Female nahitabo karung adlawa.
Pagsinabtanay, mag-istorya mi kung
naa miy problema or naa ba ko’y
P4 gusto i-consult sa iya.
Male Okay ra man gihapon. Usahay, among
istoryahan. Dili man sad kanang naay
violence na pisikal. Mag-istorya lang.
Naay time na kanang mag-away mi,
ako kay muadto man gyud ko’g
P1
simbahan. Mag-sapon mi didto, wala
Female mi nag-tingog sa balay, didto na
Faith in God as
dayon mi mag-tingog sa simbahan.
Marital Number one man jud na ang pag-
Support P2 ampo. Nakatabang jud sa amoang
Female pagpuyo, pinaagi sa pagpaningkamot,
taliwala sa kakabos.
P3 Kung naay conflict, paningkamutan
93 | P a g e
Male nga dili maabtan ug sunrise, naa man

na sa Bibliya. Pero by the help of
kanang relihiyon kanang inig ka
Sunday muadto ug church, ma fresh
imong mind bah. Ma okay man pud mi.
Biskan dili na bitaw ka ganahan ug
istorya kay grabe jud nga ulit kanang
P3 gakalayo imong panan-aw sa iyaha.
Female Mawala jud na sya, kay tungod sa
akong relihiyon, so makahelp jud and
akong gitun-an sa among Bibliya
Praying, isa gyud na. Ah, siguro ang
P1 Bible bai, isa gihapon. Para sa ako-a
Male pud, kani sya kay makatabang jud sa
akong pamilya.
P1 Karon? Kuan lang, tawag sa Ginoo.
Female Ana gyud.
Willing ko na studyhan ang inyong
P3 relihiyion. Kay mao lge open minded
Male man ko willing ko mudawat pg
musabot.
P4 Advantage kay na-expose ko sa lain
Male nga relihiyon.
P5 Wala na nako gi-barred ang accepting
Male of another religion.
Openness P5 Dili man sad sya ga contradict sa
towards Female amoang religion kay open man sya.
religious Na-embrace nako ang ilang tradition
diversity parehas anang pagpanguros, tradition
man siguro na. Ah, na-open mind ko
bai, dili nako kanang pareha niadto.
Pag naa lang ko sa simbahan, unya
P1
mao ni ang gitudlo sa simbahan, ana
Male ba, and kung makapaminaw ko,
usahay kay mapakapanaway ko, yet,
ang akong kuan karon is ing-ana, dili
nako kaayo ga react kay ga-respeto
nasad ko. Isa ka advantage na, na sa
94 | P a g e
akong kaugalingon natudluan sad ko

ug pag-respeto sa lain tao.
Bata pa lang sila, gina-ingnan na nako
P4 sila na kung unsa mo pagdako okay ra
Male sa ako. Naay freedom ba kung unsa
ilang gusto.
P4 Sabi ko lang sa kanila, kung saan niyo
gusto, doon kayo. Hindi ko sila kino-
Female convince na ganito ganyan, wala.
P5 Kanang naa ra pud sa iya kung aha
Female siya ganahan magfollow nga religion.
CHILDREN’S RELIGIOUS FORMATION
Child’s Gusto pud namo nga sya jud ang

P2
freedom to mupili sa iyang gustong sundon nga
Male relihiyon.
choose one’s
Oo, okay ra kaayo sa akoa kung asa
religion sila kay para man gyud sa akoa is, mas
P1 maayo man gyud ng mutuo ka sa
Ginoo bahala kung unsa ka na
Female religion. Dili man gyud kanang, lisod
man sad ng dira gyud ka, kanang
gina-force gyud.
Pero pwede pud nga papiliun sya
P5 (referring to his child). So kanang naa
Female ra pud sa iyaha kung aha sya ganahan
magfollow nga religion.
Kanang kung unsa iyahang (husband)
P5 belief kay pwede pud niya itudlo sa
Female amoang anak pero kung unsa pud
akong belief kay ako-a pud itudlo.
P5
Individual Individual mi magshare.
Male
sharing of Amo jud dad-un kanunay sa tagsa-
religious belief P2 tagsa ka simbahan kay parang gusto
Male namo nga magdako siya nga
mahadlukon sa Ginoo
P4 Tinuturuan ko sila sa house tapos iba
Female rin yung turo ng Papa nila.
95 | P a g e
Pero sa amo-a man jud lahi-lahi. Ang

P1 among pag-share sa ilaha kay lahi-
Female lahi gyud. Kay ang akong ampo sa
Catholic, siya sa Baptist.
WELL-BEING
PERCEIVED SENSE OF OPTIMISM
P2
Okay kaayo malipayon.
Female
P3 Happy ug kanang expectation nako

Female nga happy, na-meet siya.
P5 Enjoy, challenging, full of life, full of

Male love, full of inspirations.
P3 Oo, kay ang expectation na ko kay

Male happy family, naa man.
Happy. Kanang ga-start pami as a

P4 married couple na different ug
Female religion, walay nag bag-o sa pila ka
years na namo na pag-minyo.
Complicated. Dili man gyud siya ideal

PSYCHOLOFICAL WELL-BEING
family, kuan jud siya, kuan gyud siya

FACTORS INFLUENCING
daghan trials, gubot, gubot. Hahaha.

P1
Female Okay kaayo akong life kung sa
Catholic ko, mas okay akong kinabuhi.
Pero kung couple, na gi-ingnan na jud
Presence of tamo. Complicated.
Trials Happy pirmi, pero usahay naay
P3 conflict sunod ginapaningkamotan
Female nga i-solve diritso. Kanang gubot nga
happy.
Naa man mi problems but minimal ra

P5
kaayo, it’s really not a big problem jud
Male kaayo.
96 | P a g e
Happy pero naa pu’y conflicts, usahay.

Which is normal man sad.
Pero, sa among relasyon, syempre,
aduna ma’y panag-away ginagmay ug
P2
normal ra man siguro na sa usa ka
Female magtiayon, basta dili lang palabhi-un
na sila.
Maayo, ga-away mi usahay pero amo
kanang ga-isturyahun. Kay naa ma’y
ginaingon lagi sa Bible nga kung
P2 aduna kay isa ka-tao nga gikalalis,
Male kinahanglan imo gyud kanang
isturyahun. Para mag-uli mo sa
maayong kabubut-un.
Ah, naa gihapoy ups and downs bai.

Daghan and balod, mas daghan ang
storm kay naa pa gihapon ang, ah,
P1
defects na katong na-develop adtong
Male ngil-ad kaayo na panahon sa among
relasyon.
Prayer bisan ako ra isa kay isa ra jud

P1 akong kadaganan, ang Diyos. Dako
Male kaayo na nga tabang ang pag-salig sa
Ginoo.
Kanang sa religion, pagsimba bisan

ako ra isa. Mag reflect lang dayon,
Individual P3
magstorya lang about sa kuan, agi sa
Religious Female Ginoo. Ana ra, believe in one God lang
Practice gyud.
Magsimba ko sa Catholic, ako ra isa. I-
prefer gali nako na ako ra isa kaysa
P1 naa siya kay murag maka distract
Female man gyud siya sa ako-a kay
kinahanglan nako siya pirminte bitaw
gina, “okay ra ka ha ni sya?” Murag
97 | P a g e
makadisturb ko pirminti na, okay ra

ka ha na magsimba siya ani?
Ako mag-ampo ko pinaagi sa Katoliko
P2
nako. Pareha anang naay artal, naay
Female santos. Pero siya, pinaagi sa Biblia.
P5
Ikaw ra ang magsimba sa inyo.
Female
Dawaton nako na dili siya okay pero

kabalo ko na nasabtan kaayo nako
P1
siya karon, sa among mga naagian.
Male Hopeful pud ko na eventually, mapa-
ingon ra gihapon siya na maayo.
SENSE OF OPTIMISM
Maayo ra gihapon. Taliwala sa mga

P2 umaabot nga problema nga angayan
Male pa nga atubangon ug sulbaron sa
umaabot, wala lang jud buhi-ay.
Padayun gyapon sa pag-sulbar nga

P3 kung unsay nahitabo nga negative sa
Female amoa dili na mahitabo utro. Padayun
japun sa pagsalubang.
I know in the future kay naa pa mi

bigger challenges nga maagian sa
P5 amo-a, diba? So I will just keep on
Male praying. Ang mga faith namo kay…
basin naa mi mga future away pero
dapat kay ma-settle na namo dapat.
98 | P a g e
Kung anaa ma’y kakulian, mga trials

P2
or unsa ba, kabalo mi nga mulabay ra
Female na, pinaagi ra na sa pag-ampo.
From time to time pud nga manglaag
P2
mi na kami duha or naa ang among
Female bata.
FACTORS INFLUENCING MARITAL SATISFACTION
Syempre kanang mag surprise ko sa

iyaha kay I love surprises man gud.
Every month kay gapadala ko ug
flowers sa iyaha. So, mao siguro tong
P5
nakeep nako kay I give surprises and
Male love syempre
Cope up na mi ana nga kailangan
kanang magtinabanga na jud mi
Exerting effort karon.
to keep the Kuan padayon lang kung unsay ika-
relationship P3 ayo sa among relasyon. Padayun sa
Female pagpaningkamot sa trabaho.
From time to time pud nga manglaag

P3
mi na kami duha or naa ang duha ka
Male bata.
Kung weekends kay maglaag mi kay
mao ra man among time sa each
P5
other. Since isa pa man among anak at
Female least daghan mi ug bonding time ba.
Hahahaha!
Ang akong ikasulti sa pagkakaron,
maayo kay nag renispetuhay mi unya
Manifestation
P2 nagminahalay.
of love and
Female Simple ra kaayo mi, basta kay
respect
magnirespetuhay lang jud mi sa usa’g
usa
99 | P a g e
P2 Ang pagrespetuhay ka namo sa usa-

Male usa ka namong manag-tiayon
Respect pirminte kana
P3 Gatuo man gud ko nga makapadugay
Male ni og relationship ang sweetness og
love sa usa’t usa.
P3
Kuan affection
Female
Usahay kanang mingawon ko ug kaon
sa baboy. Okay ra man sa iyaha nga
P5 magkaon ko ug baboy sa balay pero
Male dili na lang nako na ginabuhat kay
respetar na lang sa ilahang practice
ba, diba?
Hindi ko pinapakita na bastos ang
aking religion, nagrerespeto ako sa
P4
religion sa Islam religion. Kapag gusto
Female ko kumain ng baboy, sa labas nalang
ako kumakain
Sa Catholic kay gasimba na na siya
ron sa Catholic kay. Dili lang siya
gapanguros, maminaw siya. Naa man
P1
miy mangluhod or mag kneel, dili lang
Female siya. Maglingkod lang siya maminaw
ra siya. Pero ga respeto gihapon siya,
mutindog siya, ana-ana.
Dayon kay dili na nako gaka-
appreciate ang happiness kay wala
man jud, dili nako gakabati. Tungod sa
P1 mga bata na lang siguro, pero sa iya
Children Affect Female wala na. Sa mga bata nalang, kung
uban nako ang mga bata, mao ra. Kay
Parental
murag ang bridge nalang sa amoa kay
Satisfaction ang bata nalang gyud.
Naa koy gladness tungod kay karon,
P1 naa man sad koy makita na angay
Male ipag-pasalamat ug angay ika-lipay,
akong mga anak. Ing-ana.
100 | P a g e
P4 Very good. Lipay ug enjoy. Makita ko

Male lang mga anak ko, masaya na ako.
P4 Kontento ako kasi anim na ang anak
Female ko.
Isa na pud diha ang pag-abot sa
P2
among anak nga nakadala ug kalipay
Female sa amo nga mag-tiayon.
101 | P a g e

Interfaith Marriages Experiences Well-Being

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Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan

Interfaith Marriages: Experiences, Well-Being, and Marital Satisfaction of Couples with

The idea of interfaith marriage connotes a marriage between individuals amid

Keywords: interfaith marriages, experiences, well-being, marital satisfaction

The Problem and Review of Literature

of a different religion. In addition, participants with “strong religious fundamentalism and

Meanwhile, Philippines remains to be considered as a religiously diverse country. It is

couples’ marital satisfaction, experiences, and well-being.

Nevertheless, marrying someone from a different religion remains to be really rare

Dharmic and Abrahamic beliefs (Admin, 2009).

Challenges in Marriages among Interfaith Couples

emotional, nevertheless, when contentment falloffs in their relationship, divorce may be an

the relationship intimate and healthy.

together, and sex will less likely to occur.

Religion and Effects on Psychological Well-Being

influence on an individual. Furthermore, practicing one’s religion such as praying has a

allow healing on its own (Joshi, Kumari & Jain, 2008).

predictor of psychological well-being. According to Perez (2012), the spiritual factor or a

person’s religious beliefs is a deemed important component in the explanation of psychological

factor to the overall sense of an individual’s psychological well-being.

Religion and Effects on Marital Satisfaction

In addition to the Christians, some characteristics of marriage quality (e.g. marital

dynamics of how typecasting influences a married couple’s experience, well-being, and

satisfaction may be nonetheless, publicly accessible.

presence of their children.

individual satisfaction and psychological well-being. By this, sampling has assumed

The Present Study

which consider Abraham as a Patriarch, denoting an Abrahamic religion, for example,

Meanwhile, psychological well-being is said to be deeply rooted in one’s religious

significant communal relationships, the meaning of existence and accomplishment of personal

overall sense of well-being in an individual (Jain, Joshi & Kumari, 2008).

In terms of challenges in marriage among interfaith couples, the marital environment is

1. What are the experiences of couples from interfaith marriages?

2. How do these couples perceive their well-being?

3. How do these couples perceive their marital satisfaction?

and 2 below present the demographics of the participants.

Table 1. Age of Participants

Table 2. Religion of Participants

maintain your relationship as a couple?),

Catholic religious heritage.

crucial point of their marriage.

couple then shares their faith to their children, separately.

children’s presence in their family.

religious beliefs but are due to their experiences instead.

couple shared several beliefs amidst their religious differences.

household and monetary difficulties.

another’s beliefs and practices.

they had filled their union with love and respect.

married after a seven-month relationship.

should not be left unsolved until sunrise.

3 females. P4M is a fifty-three-year-old follower of Islam while P4F is a forty-seven-year-old

Cagayan de Oro City after a few years.

supportive to her children’s religious preference.

throughout the years.

four considers their children as an important feature to their marital satisfaction.

As a couple engaged in an interfaith marriage, extra challenges may not appear as a

child the freedom to choose his or her religion.

events as symbolic to the both of them.

anniversary, monthsary and also during Christmas.

challenges in marriage, keeping an open communication, faith in God as marital support,

marital satisfaction as seen in Table 1.

Marital Conflicts  Religious Marital Conflict

 Keeping an Open Communication

Children’s Religious Formation  Child’s Freedom to Choose One’s Religion