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Previous research portrays religious heterogamy or mixed religious marriages as lacking marital quality and satisfaction; however, these studies have been presented from a quantitative paradigm. Current research utilizing qualitative methods has advanced various perspectives of this population that provides a more in-depth understanding of religious marital functioning. A qualitative phenomenological method was utilized to explore the experiences of eight participants in mixed religious marriages; who presented a bigger picture supporting a more complex view of the diversities and intricacies of religious heterogamy. The data also showed that religious heterogamous relationships were influenced by several factors with religious perceptions remaining an overarching factor. Religious perceptions were examined in three domains: How religion connects to the relationship, how religion assimilates into the relationship, and how religion is separate from the relationship. The data analysis emerged with an interactional cycle, the D.A.R., ¸ which identified three distinct stages of experiences unique to individuals in religious mixed marriages: desire, awareness, and resolution.

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Dr. Jacqueline K. Clarke earned her Doctorate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Nova Southeastern University,and her Master degrees in Counseling Psychology as well as Interdisciplinary Studies in Theology and Christian Education from the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology, Jamaica. She is a Licensed Family Therapist in Florida, USA.

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