How To Date A Partner From A Different Culture
When you start dating you are actually inviting someone into your life. When you form a relationship with someone, all of a sudden their opinions about you and what you do, become important. Therefore you invite them to have influence in your life. When you think about it like that, its an interesting process.
This is a good thing when the person you date and then develop a relationship with, helps you make decisions in life that make you a better person in your own eyes. It is a bad thing though when the person you are forming a relationship with, tries to make you a better person in their eyes, with little or no regard to what you want out of life.
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.
Two of the pillars of a successful relationship are compromise and understanding. As such, cross religion or cross cultural relationships are sometimes difficult. This is because, due to "devotion to the cause", the religious person's views and attitudes can sometimes be rigid, breaking down the precepts of compromise and understanding.
But having said that, I am not saying religious or cultural beliefs in you or a potential partner are bad, or good. In fact I am not even saying they will inhibit or help the development of your relationship. Rather, I am saying, depending on the people involved, they can do either.
You may be Asian and eastern culture may be very important to you. Dating someone else who places similar importance on such traditions can promote harmony in your relationship and assist with your personal growth. This is due to your synchronised life views.
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.
Similarly with religion, a devout person of Christian or Jewish faith could be a much better person having a partner of similar faith, helping and supporting them through the matters of conscience particular to those religions. Similar beliefs in matters of sexuality also help in setting boundaries in the early stages of relationships in these cases. This is why religious dating sites also exist.
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.
This is a good thing when the person you date and then develop a relationship with, helps you make decisions in life that make you a better person in your own eyes. It is a bad thing though when the person you are forming a relationship with, tries to make you a better person in their eyes, with little or no regard to what you want out of life.
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.
Two of the pillars of a successful relationship are compromise and understanding. As such, cross religion or cross cultural relationships are sometimes difficult. This is because, due to "devotion to the cause", the religious person's views and attitudes can sometimes be rigid, breaking down the precepts of compromise and understanding.
But having said that, I am not saying religious or cultural beliefs in you or a potential partner are bad, or good. In fact I am not even saying they will inhibit or help the development of your relationship. Rather, I am saying, depending on the people involved, they can do either.
You may be Asian and eastern culture may be very important to you. Dating someone else who places similar importance on such traditions can promote harmony in your relationship and assist with your personal growth. This is due to your synchronised life views.
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.
Similarly with religion, a devout person of Christian or Jewish faith could be a much better person having a partner of similar faith, helping and supporting them through the matters of conscience particular to those religions. Similar beliefs in matters of sexuality also help in setting boundaries in the early stages of relationships in these cases. This is why religious dating sites also exist.
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 christian dating sites serve a relevant role in bringing christian singles together in faith and love
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