Interfaith Marriage: Which Religions Are More Likely To Marry Into Other Religions?

Data analysts over at Facebook have been combing through our Facebook profiles to compile a report about love and religion. And their overriding conclusion is that few of us are involved in interfaith relationships.

This verdict, however, stands truer in some countries than others.

One interesting finding: though Singapore boasts a great diversity when it comes to different religions co-existing together, more than 90 per cent of couples share the same religion.

For the report, analysts used profiles that posted self-identified religions. In Singapore, more than 50 per cent of Facebook users are Muslim, 24 per cent Protestant, 12 per cent Catholic, 9 per cent Buddhist, and 5 per cent ‘other.’

Results were similar in Taiwan, where 90 per cent of couples shared the same religion, despite the country’s religious diversity.

At the other end of the spectrum, Spain posted the highest rate of interfaith couples with 28 percent.

Couples were identified by their online relationship status: in a relationship, engaged, or married.

In the UK, where 40 per cent of Facebook users identify themselves as Protestant, 17 per cent Catholic, 15 per cent Atheist and 11 per cent Muslim, again nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of couples chose partners whose belief system resembled their own.

Analysts also noticed a definite pattern when it came to interfaith relationships. After plotting out interfaith couples and age timelines in the US, for example, it could be concluded that younger people in their twenties are more likely to dabble with dating people outside their religious sphere.

But with age and relationship status -- i.e. marriage -- couples in the US were more likely to stick to people who share the same beliefs.

The groups in the US least likely to marry outside their religion? According to Facebook, that would be Mormons and Sikhs.

Jews, meanwhile, are much more likely to intermarry.

And finally, Jedis -- yes, those who are disciples of The Force -- were the most likely to intermarry, as they made up just 0.15 percent of the population (it’s hard, after all, to find someone with compatible midichlorians, point out Facebook analysts).

Nevertheless, more than 13 per cent of Jedis still managed to snag a fellow Jedi.

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