Marrying someone outside of your religion can present unique challenges for interfaith couples. But what issues does it pose for the religions themselves?
HuffPost Live recently hosted a full discussion with religious leaders and interfaith couples about the topic. Rabbi David Wolpe, of the Los Angeles' Sinai Temple, said he won't preside over an interfaith wedding ceremony at all because it isn't a net positive for the Jewish community in the long-term.
He explained that while some couples might be able to make it work, the ultimate goal of a religious leader like himself is to help his faith grow and prosper. Wolpe said that is put at risk in an interfaith marriage when the couple decides to have children.
"The chances you'll raise a child Jewish is much, much less," he told HuffPost Live's Nancy Redd. "When you have an interfaith marriage, for Jewish people it's almost always a diminishment."
Wolpe said that often parents think their child will choose which faith he or she prefers as an adult, but that he feels that decision is often rooted in parental preference, not religious beliefs.
"I think we don't like to talk about or think about it because the ideal of people moving outside of their group and marrying someone else is such a beautiful notion so in tune with the American ethos," Wolpe said. "But at least especially for minority cultures, it's not so easy."