MIXED MARRIAGES - THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION - Belfast 26-27 November 2001

NIMMA (1974) aims to provide pastoral care for its members, information to interested persons and society in general and acts, uniquely, as a pressure group on the churches. We have forced change on the main denominations, especially in areas of getting married and pastoral care, but much remains to be done. The differences and similarities between Ireland and the rest of the world have been highlighted, since 1980, by the biennial international conferences (two hosted by NIMMA). This will be discussed.

Seamus Dunn - Education and Mixed Marriage
To generate the sensitivity and respect necessary for success mixed marriage frequently involves adaptation, negotiation and compromise from both the partners and their wider families. These processes may, however, come under severe strain at a number of crucial points where significant personal decisions have to be taken. A number of these relate to the birth and upbringing of children. In this presentation the focus is on the specific issues relating to the education of children.

In most societies education involves the transmission both of factual knowledge and skills and of cultural values and traditions. Thus the way in which children are educated can easily become a source of difficulty. This can be clearly illustrated in relation to the education system in Northern Ireland and the dilemmas it poses for mixed marriage families. The three choices which are available to parents when a child is ready to begin school, a controlled (de facto protestant) school, a maintained school administered by the catholic church or an integrated (mixed catholic/protestant) school all present potential sources of difficulty which will be analysed in some detail.

The controlled school, financed and administered by the state from the founding of Northern Ireland, is open to children of all religious faiths. However its history and traditions ensure a close identification with Protestantism. Protestant clergy are usually represented on the board of management and they also come into the school to contribute to religious education Almost all teaching staff are protestant and the religious education provided, although officially described as non-denominational, leans towards protestant theological positions. The school makes no provision for preparing children for formal admission into adult membership of any denomination, seeing this as the role of parents or church Sunday schools.

The maintained schools are linked to individual catholic parishes with administrative support from the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools. In addition, until relatively recently, a portion of their funding had to be raised from the parishes. A central part of the remit of the maintained primary school is to ensure that pupils are educated within a catholic ethos and more specifically that they are given instruction to prepare them for the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation.

In the integrated primary school, children from catholic and protestant backgrounds are educated together but in addition to a shared core of religious education there is also the option of attending classes of denominational religious instruction. Thus parents have to choose for example whether their children should attend classes provided by qualified catholic teachers in preparation for receiving the sacraments.

These choices mean that parents cannot avoid decisions which will be interpreted in effect as labelling their children as 'belonging' to one community or the other. This is likely to have both short and long term implications for the children themselves, their parents, the respective family groups and even the wider community in which they live.

Will Glendinning - Mixed Marriages in a Contested Society
This presentation will outline the comprehensively segregated nature of Northern Ireland society, and the challenge that such segregation poses to mixed marriage couples. Such a challenge is determined by a number of factors, each discussed in the paper, namely the role in and relationship to the conflict in Northern Ireland of each of the partners and their relations; economic status; occupation and location. The paper then addresses the role of policy makers in public service provision in supporting mixed marriage couples, and the role of anti-discriminatory and human rights legislation in protecting partners in mixed relationships.

Berni Kelly and Mary McColgan - Public Care Services for Children from Cross-Community Relationships
Legislative reform in child care in Northern Ireland has emerged against a backdrop of political uncertainty, economic regeneration, and ongoing sectarian strife. The concomitant emphasis placed on active citizenship for children is also underlined in current legislation (Northern Ireland Act 1998). However, trends in public care show an over-representation of children from cross community families reflecting the extent to which their particular needs have been overlooked within society as a whole. This paper outlines the key research findings of the extent of this over-representation, a current study examining the needs of these children, and professional responses.

These studies indicate that the religious, cultural and ethnic identity needs of children have been neglected in Northern Ireland. The paper explores further, the extent to which this picture is replicated throughout children in need and adoption services. Finally, drawing on national and international perspectives, the paper considers factors which may contribute to the marginalisation of these children.

Canon Brendan Murray - Church Relations and Mixed Marriages
People who enter a mixed or inter church marriage have always faced certain difficulties. These can arise between themselves because of differences in belief and religious practice. They are also due to the attitude of the Churches to which the couple belong. Each church has a view of itself, which leads it to have laws and regulations for marriage. In the case of the Roman Catholic Church, for which I speak, these are designed to help safeguard the faith of the Catholic partner, but obviously are not seen as such by others.

In the past there has been a great deal of hostility between the Churches and in Northern Ireland this has been aggravated by the fact that there are not only two churches involved but two communities which can also be hostile to one another. However, over the past 30 years, the position of the Churches has changed considerably. There is much more openness between the Churches and often a real friendship between the clergy. In many places we meet regularly to discuss points of faith and mutual concern. This means that we can very often work together in celebrating inter-church marriages and help both families concerned to accept and even welcome them.

Ari Nave - Essential Thinking: What Inter-Ethnic Marriage in Mauritius Tells Us About the Nature of Ethnic Group Conflict
Scholars frequently assume that interethnic marriage will undermine ethnic boundaries, or that close interactional contact will generate tolerance and understanding between ethnic groups. The example of Mauritius, where the different ethnies share a language and schooling environment, where there is residential integration, and even moderate levels of intermarriage, suggests it may be niaive to think that 'familiarity" reduces prejudice and conflict. After all, ethnocentrism is robust in Mauritius.

The dynamics of inter-ethnic marriage give us a window into how ethnicity is conceptualized and how ethnic boundaries are maintained. In turn, knowledge of the fundamental processes involved in the maintenance of ethnic boundaries can help us understand how social policies will impact inter-ethnic relations.

An assumption that outgroup ethnics possess a wholly different 'nature' (whether or not supported by actual differences in interactional norms) usually leads to preferences for ethnic endogamy. Even when intermarriage occurs, the children of such unions are pushed to choose a single rather than a hybrid ethnic identity. These processes preserve essentialized ethnic boundaries, which than delineate lines of interest where groups come into conflict.

An attenuation of ethnic conflict probably requires undermining the processes that keep ethnic boundaries so stable. Perhaps socialization into a superordinate identity with state legitimacy, coinciding with a superordinate set of values and norms, as the example of the US suggests, is one way to move conflicting ethnies in a polyethnic state toward a more tolerant co-existence.

Richard O'Leary - Mixed marriages in the Republic of Ireland: Old chestnuts and new buds
The situation for intermarriages (Protestant-Roman Catholic) in the Republic of Ireland shares some features with that of intermarriages in Northern Ireland but is different in other important respects. Most importantly, in the Republic inter-communal violence is absent. The defining context for debate about intermarriage in the Republic has been the demographic decline of the minority Protestant population and the contribution to this of Roman Catholic Church rules on intermarriage. This has raised issues for the Churches and for the Irish government. The paper presents data on the practice of intermarriage, attitudes to it and some significant recent developments. These will be discussed in the context of changes in the wider society. Intermarriage in the Republic will also be considered in a wider international comparative context.

Gillian Robinson - Cross-community marriage in Northern Ireland
This paper draws on two sources. The first source was a study of the experiences of couples who enter into a mixed marriage in Northern Ireland which was conducted in 1991. A detailed report was published and is now available on-line. The second source is the findings from a series of social attitudes surveys in Northern Ireland that have been conducted since 1989.

The 1991 study was based on a qualitative approach and provided the first comprehensive evidence on the actual experiences of individuals. It was clear at that time that while a few couples experienced no problems as a result of entering a mixed marriage the majority of people did. The problems encountered included: where to marry; where to live; family reactions; the decision to have children; what religion to bring them up in; and where to educate children. In this study it was clear that social attitudes towards mixed marriage were not positive.

The social attitudes surveys provide a times series of data on this topic. They show that the number of mixed marriages in Northern Ireland has risen slowly over the last ten years and suggest that people are much more likely than they were ten years ago to believe that such marriages are generally accepted in Northern Ireland society. The findings show that Catholic respondents are more optimistic than Protestants about how mixed marriages are generally accepted in society and are more likely to say that they would not mind a mixed marriage within their own family - but the gap has narrowed over the decade. The paper concludes by showing limited data on attitudes within Northern Ireland to inter-racial marriages.

Mateja Sedmak - The Changing Status and Consequences: Ethnically Mixed marriages in Slovene Istra
The paper's main aim is to present the impact of the macro level of social life (social, political and historical circumstances) on the specific micro level of inter-personal relations ie on ethnically mixed marriages. In this regard special attention is placed on the period from the end of World War II up to the late twentieth century (the period of disintegration of the former Yugoslavia and the change in status caused when ethnically mixed marriages change from intra-national to international ones). This period saw the changeable nature of social relations towards ethnically mixed marriages: a shift from a relatively positive perception in the case of mixed marriages between Slovenes and nations from the former Yugoslavia (a perception which was encouraged by ideals of "brotherhood and unity") towards a more negative perception. A special emphasis is made on the processes and phenomenon of the last decade (independence of Slovenia, new demarcations, the need to establish new family survival strategies etc) and on the comparative dimension of the situation regarding mixed marriages in Italy. Finally, the national affiliation of the mixed marriage partners and the element of (non)autochthony seemed to be crucial. Moreover, the place of birth and early socialisation seemed to be more important than "pure national affiliation".

The paper's findings are based on the results of the empirical research dealing with ethnically mixed marriages in the multicultural and and multi-lingual territory of Sloven Istra which was carried out in the period May-November 2000.

Marie Smyth - The Future of Mixed Marriage: Young People and Cross-Community Relationships in Northern Ireland
This paper discusses attitudes to cross community relationships amongst young people in Northern Ireland, using evidence from a survey conducted in 2000, of young people's attitudes, and from in-depth interviews with young people and from elsewhere. The evidence about young people's attitudes to cross community relationships is discussed in relation to (a) patterns of residential and educational segregation in Northern Ireland, (b) to young people's overall political preferences and views, and (c) their relationship with older generations. Conclusions are drawn about the future of cross community relationships in Northern Ireland.

Wanda Wigfall-Williams - Identity Negotiation within a Mixed Marriage: An Opportunity for Conflict Escalation or Conflict Transformation
I have examined the issues in identifying and articulating what happens to the individual partners in a mixed marriage. At overt as well as covert levels there is ongoing discourse regarding where one might place oneself on the identity continuum. In the Northern Ireland situation, some partners may reject one's own 'birth' religion, and accept the religion of one's spouse. The couple may choose to start a new tradition by registering at a church or other sacred place that is unfamiliar to both of them. Or finally, the couple may turn away from organized religion, and decide upon a new strategy to attend to their spiritual needs. Whether it is a matter of assimilation, acculturation, acquiescence or the creation of a new culture or 'third space', it is critically important to articulate the impact of identity negotiation on the two people in the marriage, and by extension their families, friends, and acquaintances in the larger divided community. One question that I hope to answer is, what are the lessons learned from identity negotiation in the mixed marriage setting? Do any of those lessons provide insight as to how to transform conflict at the community level?