If you want to screw up your marriage, let religious differences divide your household. You’re likely well aware that there are more religions in the world than just the one that you practice but it’s important that you not let this understanding cloud your judgment. If you want to screw up your marriage, you should act like your belief is the only one that is valid.
Religious differences can get particularly dicey when your kids get involved. You each might have ideas about the right way to raise your children, including the religion they will practice. This will likely present some uncomfortable conversations so a great way to screw up your marriage is to put those conversations off for as long as possible. You can do this by never discussing religion or how to raise your children before the wedding. Let it be a surprise. It’s clear that the best time to hash out such a divisive and explosive topic is after your child is born, not before. Remember that even little jokes about religion can be damaging, so if you want to screw up your marriage, don’t think twice before making them.
Another way you can let religious differences destroy your marriage is by not celebrating your differences. You can do this by keeping religious representation unbalanced in your household and celebrating your religion’s holidays or traditions much more than your partner’s. If you are a religious person, your religion is likely important to you. Of course, you should operate as if this is not the case for your partner and make generalizations about their religion in front of them, your children, and your friends.
Finally, you can let religious differences screw up your marriage by assuming that working through your differences will be easy all the time without putting in any work. Don’t try to learn more about your partner’s background or traditions and don’t share your own with them. In the event that you are agnostic or an atheist, make sure your partner knows just how little you believe in their religion. Sure, this might even border on disrespectful or insensitive, but it’s not like you care about religion anyway. When a marriage has religious differences, the partners must come together to celebrate their individual traditions and beliefs while also uplifting that of their partner. If you want to screw up your marriage, take steps to make sure religious differences get in the way of marital harmony.