Problems Faced by Catholic Partners in Inter-religious Marriage in Flores, South-east Indonesia

Abstract

This article highlights the problems experienced by catholic couples married to non-Catholic couples in Flores, Southeast Indonesia. Through the literature and field approaches, this study found that many catholic couples experienced double forms of the marriage celebration, difficulties in marriage legality and children's education, and failure in building harmony and resilience of the integrity of their marriage. This article emphasizes the problems due to the absence of explicitly mentioning interfaith marriage in the articles of Law No.1 of 1974 concerning Marriage. Marriage Law should be made friendly to religious diversity and interfaith Marriage in Indonesia. Interfaith/ interreligious marriages in Indonesia should receive adequate legal, religious, and social protections. Furthermore, married couples who live in interfaith marriages must develop an inclusive religious mindset and practical interpersonal communicative skills to make their marriage permanent.

University Student’s Perceptions on Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia: Openness, Idealism, and Reality

“…A marriage that deviates from conventional ceremonies will be perceived as a perilous departure that poses a threat to the institution of marriage and may even result in calamities for the community. The role of the family is significantly more influential in comparison to the involvement of the bride and groom themselves (Allerton 2004;Erb 1991;Fox 1980;Lon and Widyawati 2018;S. Lon 2021).…”