Interracial Marriage - Essay Example

Interracial marriages Interracial marriage refers to the combining of two parties, different races in matrimony, or rather when the two get married, which occurs as a form of exogamy. In this case, exogamy refers to people marrying outside one’s social group, where interracial marriages focus on groups that are not of a similar race as the subjects involved. The marriage may be for the purpose of cohabitation, sexual relation or other desires in which the two parties involved find interest to bring them together in marriage.

Interracial marriages can be evaluated from different perspectives; starting from the legal and religious issues to the genetic issues involved in interracial marriages. As such, religiously, some groups approve of interracial marriages, where they concern themselves with acceptance and their conception of divinity and spiritual leaders. In reference to this issue of religion, certain groups encourage interracial marriages as they are viewed as propagation of the world’s population, which can be found in the bible (Christian Answers, n.d.).

Other religions, however, are against these marriages as they are viewed to be in contradiction of the pure religious bred of believers or of a spiritual group. This is because the group is fully dedicated to purity and restricts its members to people of a certain color only, thus seeing excommunicating people who breach their regulations. In relation to the overall benefits and disadvantages of interracial marriages, a lot can be said, or even deduced, where these two aspects of interracial marriages cover a large scope.

Following the merits, interracial marriages see personal growth in both parties involved and even their close associates, as it offers a unique environment. In this environment, one gets to comprehend the challenges that a spouse faces in an attempt to fit into a new culture, and due to racial differences (Landry, 2009). This is in relation to feeling left out, which allows spouses to develop a new level of racial empathy and acceptance, as well as identity for difficult situations. Consequently, spouses also learn the concept of dispelling stereotypes against the other race as one gets to know the spouse.

This can be seen in cases where there are misconceptions about other races, and these can easily be eradicated by interracial marriages as they give room for interaction. This also means that interracial marriages create a crucial opportunity to end social segregation as all parties and their misconception of one another can be dispelled, and acceptance cultivated. However, there are demerits that interracial marriages bring with them in that they bring identity issues for children based on the different races of the parents (Landry, 2009).

This is because the children come from and identify with mixed backgrounds thus children have difficulties making friends and navigating around society. In addition, this may bring disapproval on both parents and children, as there is not an agreement on which racial culture to follow.In conclusion, interracial marriages bring together people from different racial backgrounds and join them through marriage, which has different consequences and views in society. This is in relation to social and religious views, which are all covered in the merits and demerits of having such marriages in society.

ReferencesLandry, R. (2009). “The Pros and Cons of Interracial Marriage”. Yahoo! Inc. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/the-pros-cons-interracial-marriage-5077401.html?cat=41Christian Answers. (n.d.). Is interracial marriage biblical? Retrieved from http://www.christiananswers.net/q-sum/sum-g003.html