Can a Catholic Marry a Non-Catholic?

The Catholic Church does not forbid Catholics from marrying people who are not Catholic. It has been the practice of the Church to marry non-Catholics and Catholics for quite some time. The Church refers to these types of marriages as mixed-marriages.

Sometimes a future spouse will choose to go through a process called RCIA to become Catholic prior to marriage, but it is not necessary to become Catholic before marrying a Catholic. However, express permission of the local bishop is necessary. The Catholic person must uphold the obligation to preserve his or her own faith and “ensure the baptism and education of the children in the Catholic Church,” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1635).

One of the reasons that the Church exists is to safeguard the souls of those in its care. If a Catholic insists on marriage to a non-Catholic, the Church allows it, but wants to protect the soul of the Catholic in the marriage by making sure the non-Catholic understands the moral teaching and obligations of the Catholic party and assure that the Catholic is not in a position hostile to his or her faith.

Marriage to a Non-Baptized Person

The Catholic Church calls the union of a Catholic to someone who has not been baptized a disparity of cult. In the above example the two people are baptized Christians of different confessions (or denominations), but a non-baptized person is not a part of the Christian family. When it involves someone who has not been baptized then the marriage requires an express dispensation from the bishop in order for the union to be considered valid.

Scripture tells us that the unbelieving spouse is made holy through the believing spouse (1 Cor. 7:14). Sacramentally in marriage the spouses are the conduits of grace to each other and in a mixed-marriage of disparity of cult the Catholic is a conduit of grace to the non-believer. If this leads to a free conversion of belief by the non-believer then the church rejoices.

Concerns About Marrying Non-Catholics

For a mixed-marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic to work well it is important that the couple embraces what is common between their respective faith traditions and “to learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ,” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1634). This can be very difficult and trying, but can be overcome by mutual respect.

A marriage to a non-baptized person can be especially difficult because of the greater chasm in religious belief. In either case the disparities between faiths can lead to tension and gradually religious indifference. Attempting to convert one’s spouse can be interpreted as hostile and could lead to discord in the marriage. Humility and open and honest communication about expectations and the practical side of a mixed-marriage is important to making it succeed.

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367 thoughts on “Can a Catholic Marry a Non-Catholic?”

My husband and I have been married for almost 18 years. He has been divorced (once) after a brief marriage, prior to our marriage. We were both baptized Lutheran, but neither have practiced in many years. Our marriage ceremony was civil (not performed by a member of the clergy of any religious denomination, but we took our vows from the Lutheran church’s liturgy. I am now considering converting to Catholicism, and am wondering if I will ever be allowed to partake in the Eucharist once I join the Church since I am married to a divorced, non-Catholic.

I am not catholic or religious of any kind, but my husband to be is a practicing Catholic. We would like to have a non catholic ceremony performed by my fiancé’s uncle who is not a priest but is a devoted catholic. We want to get married in the Grotto outside of the church, but the priest of our local parish says that is not allowed on church property? It’s not inside the church and it is not a traditional catholic wedding. We are getting mixed information about this and we think the priest doesn’t have accurate information either. We’ve heard from another priest that this is not correct. We don’t know who to believe. So, we basically want to use this piece of land outside the church, that is very special to my fiancé, for a small ceremony. Is this or is this not legal in the eyes of the church? If anyone can enlighten me, I would be extremely grateful. Thanks

pls hlp. I am a Catholic and my partner is an Anglican it’s difficult to convince him we love each other and finally decide to get married but the problem is this: I recently found out from a friend of mine that getting married in the Catholic church is like a covenant that if we leave to another church it becomes a sin. I don’t know what to do. my question is how true is this please someone help

Hello Sandra, here is some scripture that may help with your question. 1 Corinthians 1:1-10
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 12:13
What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 12:31-
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. … Corinthians 12-13 honestly sums up to me that it does not matter who baptized you no matter man or denomination. As long as you and your fiancé profess Jesus as Lord and Savior, believe he died for your salvation, and believe in the resurrection, then you have been filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ. Therefore your salvation is secured as long as you are living in the word of God.
Sandra I would recommend keeping in mind that man is flawed. Therefore not all information from man is accurate of course. That’s is why I will just say please read and meditate on The scripture I have sent you are The word of God himself. Please just read them over and I hope that the Lord shows you what you need.

My wife is Catholic and I am Pentecostal. My wife wanted to get married in a beautiful catholic church in her country in Peru. But we live in Atlanta Georgia. We were already married in the court in Atlanta but to get permission to be married in the Church of San Pedro in Lima Peru we had to get approval from the Catholic Church. I would not agree to convert to Catholicism but we went through a lot of interviews and also had to provide numerous personal witnesses from different sides. In the end the Priests there finished all their interviews and sent everything off supposedly with their recommendations to the Archdiocese of Atlanta and from there I believe to the Vatican. In the end the process took a fair amount of time but the church approved everything and provided us with papers granting permission to be married in the catholic church of San Pedro. It was really an Interesting experience and after almost 9 years of marriage has become something of a fond memory.

That’s incredibly interesting. I’m Catholic and my boyfriend who I plan to marry one day is also Pentecostal. I hope that our differences don’t affect us too much and that our shared faith in the Lord keeps us strong, as it does your marriage!

I am Presbyterian, i fall in love with a Catholic girl can i marry in Presbyterian Church? Please help me

Hi I need help we are married in a born again christian church 2 years ago. I’m a born again christian and he is catholic. he wants us to have renewal of vows in catholic church in our 5th wedding anniversary. are there any requirements for renewal of vows since we have different religion? Thanks

I’m non-Catholic but I belong to Christian family. At the same time I fall in love with a Catholic girl. Here, my question is can I marry her? Please l really need help…

Im Orthodox and my partner is catholic, my partner is not religious and does not want to be in a church, i however am not fully religious but would still like to have a priest at my wedding for my family. It has been quite rough with them. Is it possible to have a wedding outside with a priest there??
Please help.

If he really cares and respect u and ur family he will give u a valid orthodox marriage, since he is not religious it should make no difference to him. He gave u no choice so now he has no choice in this matter.

I forgot to mention that the Catholic Church doesn’t demand that the non catholic person convert in order to get married by the church. The emphasize that a person should only convert when they freely choose to do so.
On another note, my husband and I have had conversations on the similarities of the two religions rather than on the differences. I found recently that our Blessed Mother is mentioned in the Quran more than on any other religious book, including the Bible!
Our children now adults, were baptized, did First Communion and were Confirmed. Miracles do happen!

I have read all the comments and surprised to find that incorrect information is being provided. I’m a practicing born and raised Catholic and I have been married for 25 years to a non practicing Muslim. The Catholic Church does allow a marriage of a catholic spouse to a non catholic. The non catholic spouse cannot, however, practice the Sacraments.
Through the power of prayer I have experienced miracles in my marriage. We got married in the Catholic Church thanks to my husband who secretly met with the Pastor of the church I was attending and arranged for us to get married. This took place after 10 years of being married!
I have to admit that it is not easy, As I feel I’m the one that keeps God alive in the family. Through continued prayer, offering up my daily challenges, and leading by example, I Trust that God will one day answer my prayers.
I pray for Holier marriages every day. May God and the Blessed Virgin bless you all!

i belong to roman catholic im willing to marry a non catholic guy who is not willing to convert as christian whether it is possible to marry him in catholic church without converting and what are the procedures to be followed for our marriage

hi Yes you can. You and your partner needs to attend the Marriage course. Talk to your parish priest and he will guide you thru.

My wife was Pentecostal and I am a cradle Catholic. We always focused on what our faiths had in common. We also went to mass and her services every weekend. She had actually done her undergraduate work at a Catholic college and then worked for seven years in a private Catholic girls school before going to work at a public university. I remember going to my dad when my wife (girlfriend at the time) were getting serious. I wasn’t sure how he would react having been a deeply religious man. I told him we were in love but she wasn’t Catholic. He looked me straight in the eyes and told me, “If you love each other, nothing else matters, it will work”. He was right. We had nine (six married) beautiful years together. Unfortunately she was called home far too soon back in October at the age of 32, as a result of complications from cancer. She will always be my angel and my one true love. I just wanted to share though how a mixed marriage can be a blessing sometimes. I do believe I was truly fortunate to find someone like her. She really transcended many of the things that we worry about every day. She always saw the best in people and made the best out of every situation.

I am so happy that you found your true love and you shared your story with us! I am in love with a Catholic Man and I believe in all faiths. I am going to go back to the Catholic Church and learn more about the faith. God bless you!

Hi..am a Catholic
girl having a serious relation with a marthomite boy..for 7 years .We are planning to get married soon as we are now settled down
with job ,If the boy do not wishes to convert will the church allow to conduct betrothel ceremony there?

I’m not a 100% sure where to get help from so I assume here would be a good place to ask.
I’m agnostic I have lost my faith and no longer want or need the help of a god. Weather there is or there isn’t is not my concern in life. My concern is that I have found the woman of my dreams who I cannot live without. I wish to marry her have children and live our lives together happily. I’m not hateful towards her Catholic religion I just want no part of it. From what I read it sounds like no matter what option I choose someone has to be indoctrinated or forced to convert and see this true religion scheme. The idea of weather me or my future childrens own ideas and beliefs are taken from them Is just appalling. She’s adamant about the church marriage, and frankly I dont mind it. But how can they expect me to belive their beliefs just like that. I feel if I did all this for the church for her and for God then I would be betraying my own personal ideas. If I choose to fake it for the ceremony I’d be betraying God in her eyes, and my own. I like the idea of our kids deciding there own faith, but that’s practically given up through baptism it seems. All of it sounds very zealous and forced and what gets me is why everyone’s totally cool with that. I want to know how to make this work without the loss of any side of our families with the church’s approval and our kids unbaptised.

Hi, I am a random person who happened to come across your comment. Just to let you know, there are children who have grown up fine in Catholic families that aren’t really religious who have gone through the Sacrament of Baptism (whereas a person becomes a member of the Church), aka the First Sacrament of Initiation. In the Catholic Church Baptism usually happens when the person is a baby. However, this does not “determine” the faith of the child, as there are many ways he/she can grow up and have his/her faith go. Perhaps your wife will want the child to go through the other Sacraments such as Holy Communion, and learn more about Catholicism and such through CCD, Catholic schooling, or youth group, but by the time the child comes to the Sacrament of Confirmation, it will be his/her choice to make him/herself an official member of the Church, therefore “Confirming” themselves, as confirming the parents’ choice of baptizing them in the first place, and Confirming their faith and association with the Church. As a person who grew up as a Catholic and have recently been Confirmed my ‘expertise’ is limited to my experiences and bits of research here and there. I don’t remember anything about my experience as “forced”, but sometimes I actually wish my parish were more zealous in preaching so more kids could pay more attention to understand why all of this was important, or at least connect it to formulate their own faith. Many of the people who I went to CCD with were not “zealous” in their religion, and were disinterested to learn more or apply it to their lives, however they found the CCD programs to be fun. Today they have their own beliefs gathered and materialized, some from social media, evolving society, the Internet, etc., many contradicting the Church’s teachings. No one reprimands them for that or forces them to recant their beliefs (but that depends on the family). When we arrived at the Sacrament of ‘Confirmation’, my youth minister did interviews so that the kids who were being forced by their grandparents or whoever but were not willing to commit to the Church did not have to do it. Then again, I cannot represent the face of the Church as these are mainly my own observations. If I was not sure what was a sin, I had to look it up, as the difference between “wrong” and “right” is blurring nowadays and people are more lenient on their interpretations of the Bible. Again, my parish may be less proper than others or just less focused on religion/dogma/doctrine, and more on faith, and one’s own relationship with God. Again, it’s all for what one takes it. Anyway, as I went through religious classes we were mainly given moral lessons and taught about the fundamental parts of the Church, such as Sacraments. We learned about some stories from the Bible, and learned the Ten Commandments and some prayers but never were things forced on us, like the concept of ‘Creationism’ (which, again, is interpreted differently by many Christians/Catholics) and we were never taught to prove other beliefs as ‘evil’, neither did we focus on other religions as “wrong”, besides being taught the differences between a Catholic and another denomination of Christianity. Side note: I understand you do not want any part of ‘religion’ but IMO having shared beliefs is what will hold a family together when times get tough. In this situation I’d do a lot more research on your wife’s beliefs and planning for your future together. I think it is unfortunate that you feel Catholic doctrine is very controlling but in the end for any Catholic it’s up to each individual to determine how they interpret the Church’s teachings or the Bible’s teachings and how they will follow their moral compass and apply it to their relationships with God and the world. Whenever I go on Roman Catholic forums there are many different commenters on numerous topics, and a surprising wide range of distinct beliefs that lead people to disagree on various things and give completely different advice on common questions. If you are curious about how your wife’s beliefs will affect daily or life-changing matters such as celebrating holidays, taking sides in politics, dressing up, etc., ask her for her opinion on controversial things (unless it makes her uncomfortable, but then again it would be a helpful thing to know about a partner in a future situation) and look up topics like Roman Catholic Ideas on Love, etc. I wouldn’t rely on any one site to represent the entire Catholic Church, as again in religion literally everything is up to interpretation and one zealous man could have a different opinion from one who’s not, and they could both be right. … I’m rambling. Anyhow, I believe that as long as you allow your child to experience open-minded, perhaps philosophical discussions but most of all lots of love things will turn out alright. I wish you, your family, and your family-to-be the best and God bless you all :).

Can’t be done sorry! All I heard was you talk about ‘you’ YOUR faith, and what YOU want. That’s not an appropriate attitude to enter marriage. No word on the desires of your future spouse either. You claim to have found the woman of YOUR dreams, whom you can’t live without (whatever that means) and wish to found a family with her, yet you’re not willing to sacrifice for her. You’re even willing to put her soul and the souls of your future children in peril, because you outright reject an integral part of her – her Faith. The fact is, if you don’t know her faith, then you don’t know her. Mixed faith marriages don’t work, but lazy priests and bishops allow it, even though such unions have resulted in myriads of broken families, where the burden of living in disunity and disharmony falls heavily upon the children. You will not be allowed to NOT Baptize your children if you wish to marry a Catholic within the Catholic Church. You will have to agree to raise any offspring within the Catholic Faith. No exceptions. Your claim that Baptizing children removes their right to accept or reject the Truth is false. God made man free. There are no chains in the Catholic Church. Your children can reject the Faith as adults if they wish. I think you are confused with Islam, where one cannot leave under penalty of death. It does appear to me this pending marriage is about you, and you only. Perhaps you should consider what marriage really is and whether or not you’re up to the challenge of a life long union founded on disunity and disharmony, and the damage that will cause. Regards,
Lisa Marie

To Lisa Marie, seems like you are the one who only thinks about your own perspective as a catholic. I can say the same for you where it’s only ‘you’ YOUR faith, and what YOU want. YOU want non-believers to just happily accept their child to be baptized when they are uncomfortable with it. It is selfish of you to only think of what you want and what your faith wants you to do. If you take away religion out of the equation, things would be a lot more simpler. Both parties can live their lives as a loving couple and bring their kid up with the correct values. Not everything is about religion. As a non-believer, i understand that catholics have their faiths and i respect that. But a relationship is about finding a common ground and making things work. As much as a catholic wants to enforce her religion on her child, a non-believer can want the opposite just as much. Ultimately, religion is something that helps and guide us through our voyage in life. It is ironic that it is causing us with such frustrations and dilemma. I do not have a answer for this issue because i am in the same predicament but i sure do hope that all couples face with such situation are able to brave through this rough patch together. Love transcends all. Peace out.

The Catholic Church and all her teachings, is not ‘my’ faith. I did not found the Faith. Christ did. I accepted the Truth when I heard it, and I admit, some of it is hard to swallow, but you cannot cherry pick. It’s all or nothing. I’m not asking non believers to accept anything. Truth is not based upon feelings and emotions. It exists without any human input or output. All anyone gets to do (myself included) is accept or reject it. That said, the Catholic Church actually forbids marriage to a non Catholic because of the disunity and disharmony it puts between the spouses from the beginning, and the burden it places upon the children. Unfortunately, these marriages laws have been relaxed since Vatican II, but a dispensation is still required from the local Bishop, as these marriages are not recommended due to the high rate of failure. It hasn’t got anything to do with being brave, but it has everything to do with Eternity.

People with a similar mindset like you are the reason the reformation happened. Were it not for Protestantism we’d still be in Medieval tiems