The Bi-Religious Conundrum

Only a few months after Mike and I were married, I was sitting in a World History class and coined the term "bi-religious" in an effort to argue a point during the lecture on the Protestant Reformation.  I was attempting to draw the professor's attention to early Reformers who still agreed with a large percentage of the Catholic church's doctrine.  I made reference to my husband and I having a compatible relationship even though we were "bi-religious," that is we participate in each other's expressions of worship--the Protestant and Catholic.

The teacher, and many others since that day, have chuckled at the term.  I am grateful for the laughter; it is my carefree way of describing the one area of our marriage that has brought about some of our more intense discussions.  Only days after getting engaged we were thrust into a week-long deliberation about where we were to make our vows.  Each decision, each hurdle, each theological dissertation at midnight (by me of course...while Mike listens patiently) have been part of the rub that adds luster to our marriage.  I've been proud of our pursuit:  to support one another in our personal expressions of loving God.  We walked into our marriage with eyes open to the adventure.  We had many questions, lots of hope, and one worry on the horizon:  how exactly would we accomplish bi-religiosity with children.

So here we are.  My Lion loves going to Mass (the church "with the candles") because of the fantastic playroom adjoining the sanctuary.  There will be special teachings offered to him when he's a few years older.  He is somewhat aware of the liturgy, the "work of the people."  We light an Advent wreath at home every night.  He extinguishes the candles like a pro-acolyte.  He is being taught the Bible in a delightful Sunday School class at Mike's church, and he's made many friends there.  But I worry.  I wonder how this is going to work in the coming years.  Am I subjecting my children to confusion?  Will they be able to synthesize their experiences of worship like me?  Will they wonder over the sacraments AND have utmost respect for the teaching of the Word?  I have NO idea.  What I fear is bias---words meant to cut down other denominations in the church.  I also worry about the lack of consistency in ONE place.  Can I trust that we are giving our children a broad perspective on Christianity?  We are letting them "travel" at a young age.  This is good.  I always envied my friends who traveled.  They saw other cultures.  They learned other languages.  If I keep my conundrum in perspective and see it like a multi-cultural family, I just might communicate joy and not fear to my children---wonder and not worry.