By Jayde Johanssen
Dating is an interesting process. You are basically opening your life to someone you don't really know to begin a relationship with. Once you start developing a relationship with them, you open yourself to them, in a way that their opinions and values have an impact on the decisions and directions your life take.
This can be a great thing if you are in a good relationship. In this situation your partner will use their influence to help you be the best person you can. It can be a bad situation though in a toxic relationship. In these situations, your partner can use their influence to manipulate you into behaviours that satisfy their insecurities, guilt or own ambitions.
Culture and religion can play a big part in this, especially if your date has strong beliefs or tendencies along either of these lines. The reason why culture and religion can play a big part in this is because the rules of both tend to be strict (to varying degrees) with little or no room for compromise.
Removing the space for compromise is always counter-productive in the development of a relationship. Compromise and understanding will always be two of the top requirements in the development of any successful relationship.
When I point this out, don't take it the wrong way. I'm not saying religion and culture are good or bad. I'm not saying religious or cultural people are right or wrong for you. All I am saying is that rigid beliefs and ideals can impact the development of a relationship and you should be aware of it.
Asian culture for example is very different to western culture. If Asian culture is important to you, one of the easiest ways to ensure you continue to live under its constructs is to surround yourself with like minded people. Dating is a part of this, dating people committed to Asian culture is important.
If you have not lived your life within an Asian culture and have little interest in it, then dating someone who was very strong in this regard could cause problems. It could be difficult to understand some of the values this person shared with you and some of their opinions about the thing you do. A successful relationship in this regard will take lots of compromise and understanding.
Religion works in the same manner. If you are Jewish for example, or Christian, there are certain moral standards and precepts you live your life within. Other people from the same religious denomination understand those guidelines and understand the impact they have on your decision making process and interpretation of life's events. As such, dating a person from the same religion can promote harmony in the relationship and mutual growth for the both of you in faith and life.
If you do start dating someone from a different religion, its really advisable you do some homework to understand the precepts of that religion. You relationship will face some challenges because of this alone and understanding really is the first step towards compromise and resolving the challenges. It can't be a one way street though, you partner must make an effort to understand where you came from also. Compromise always has two sides. Its about meeting in the middle.
With inter-cultural dating there is no perfect way to navigate the potential challenges that will come up from time to time. With inter-religion dating there is no perfect way to navigate the potential challenges that will come up from time to time. Lets be honest, with dating generally there is no perfect way to navigate the potential challenges that will come up from time to time. This article was never about saying what is right or wrong, it was only ever written to raise some points to think about. So if you find yourself dating someone from a different culture or religion, spend some time learning about where they came from. It will promote understanding, compromise and harmony in your relationship.
About the Author:
Jayde Johanssen recognises that jewish dating sites (http://www.datingdownunder.com.au/Jewish.html) serve an relevant role in bringing people together in harmony and love. This article, Dating - When Culture and Religion Become Factors (http://www.uberarticles.com/home.php?id=74417&p=59864) is released under a creative commons attribution license.
Dating is an interesting process. You are basically opening your life to someone you don't really know to begin a relationship with. Once you start developing a relationship with them, you open yourself to them, in a way that their opinions and values have an impact on the decisions and directions your life take.
This can be a great thing if you are in a good relationship. In this situation your partner will use their influence to help you be the best person you can. It can be a bad situation though in a toxic relationship. In these situations, your partner can use their influence to manipulate you into behaviours that satisfy their insecurities, guilt or own ambitions.
Culture and religion can play a big part in this, especially if your date has strong beliefs or tendencies along either of these lines. The reason why culture and religion can play a big part in this is because the rules of both tend to be strict (to varying degrees) with little or no room for compromise.
Removing the space for compromise is always counter-productive in the development of a relationship. Compromise and understanding will always be two of the top requirements in the development of any successful relationship.
When I point this out, don't take it the wrong way. I'm not saying religion and culture are good or bad. I'm not saying religious or cultural people are right or wrong for you. All I am saying is that rigid beliefs and ideals can impact the development of a relationship and you should be aware of it.
Asian culture for example is very different to western culture. If Asian culture is important to you, one of the easiest ways to ensure you continue to live under its constructs is to surround yourself with like minded people. Dating is a part of this, dating people committed to Asian culture is important.
If you have not lived your life within an Asian culture and have little interest in it, then dating someone who was very strong in this regard could cause problems. It could be difficult to understand some of the values this person shared with you and some of their opinions about the thing you do. A successful relationship in this regard will take lots of compromise and understanding.
Religion works in the same manner. If you are Jewish for example, or Christian, there are certain moral standards and precepts you live your life within. Other people from the same religious denomination understand those guidelines and understand the impact they have on your decision making process and interpretation of life's events. As such, dating a person from the same religion can promote harmony in the relationship and mutual growth for the both of you in faith and life.
If you do start dating someone from a different religion, its really advisable you do some homework to understand the precepts of that religion. You relationship will face some challenges because of this alone and understanding really is the first step towards compromise and resolving the challenges. It can't be a one way street though, you partner must make an effort to understand where you came from also. Compromise always has two sides. Its about meeting in the middle.
With inter-cultural dating there is no perfect way to navigate the potential challenges that will come up from time to time. With inter-religion dating there is no perfect way to navigate the potential challenges that will come up from time to time. Lets be honest, with dating generally there is no perfect way to navigate the potential challenges that will come up from time to time. This article was never about saying what is right or wrong, it was only ever written to raise some points to think about. So if you find yourself dating someone from a different culture or religion, spend some time learning about where they came from. It will promote understanding, compromise and harmony in your relationship.
About the Author:
Jayde Johanssen recognises that jewish dating sites (http://www.datingdownunder.com.au/Jewish.html) serve an relevant role in bringing people together in harmony and love. This article, Dating - When Culture and Religion Become Factors (http://www.uberarticles.com/home.php?id=74417&p=59864) is released under a creative commons attribution license.