Concept
Interfaith marriage, sometimes called a "mixed marriage", is marriage between spouses professing different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in some instances they may be established as a religious marriage. This depends on religious doctrine of each of the two parties' religions; some prohibit interfaith marriage, and among others there are varying degrees of permissibility. Several major religions are mute on the issue, and still others allow it with requirements for ceremony and custom. For ethno-religious groups, resistance to interfaith marriage may be a form of self-segregation. In an interfaith marriage, each partner typically adheres to their own religion. One issue which can arise in such unions is the choice of faith in which to raise the children. According to Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, men and women who have attained the age of majority have the right to marry "without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion". Although most of Article 16 is incorporated verbatim in Article 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the references to religious and racial limitations is omitted. Article 17, clause two, of the American Convention on Human Rights says that all men and women have the right to marry, subject to the conditions of domestic law "insofar as such conditions do not affect the principle of nondiscrimination established in this Convention." According to the Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study, interfaith marriage is increasingly common in the United States, accounting for 39% of marriages since 2010. Joan Boocock Lee, an Episcopalian British American actress who was married to Jewish-American comic book creator Stan Lee until his death, stated that the couple faced difficulty adopting a child in the mid-20th century United States. Special Marriage Act, 1954 and Love jihad Interfaith marriage is controversial in some areas, especially disapproval of relationships between Hindus and Muslims.