Husband is an atheist (secular humanist) and I am Catholic. How do married couples deal with difference in faith and beliefs especially when kids are already involved?
Hi! Husband M(28) and I F(30), have been married for a year now. And we hope to have kids in the future. I was born and raised Catholic. I do believe in the existence of God, but there are also some practices in my religion that I question. I go to church when I can, but I am not a strict-and-follow-everything-in-the-bible-or-else-you're-wrong kind of believer. I do value my personal relationship with God through prayer and acts of service. Meanwhile, my husband doesn't believe in any religion or that God exists, but he believes in being a good person because it's the right thing to do. His beliefs probably stemmed from painful and traumatic childhood experiences and a lot of other factors.
It has never been an issue in our relationship, even when we were just dating. Religion or the lack of it is not too much of a big deal for me. To me, as long as you are a kind person, who am I to judge? I love him, and he is really kind. Our personalities match in so many ways. However, recently I have been thinking about our faith differences. Eventually, we hope to have kids, so I am wondering how couples with different beliefs or religions go about teaching faith to their kids. My husband told me before that he would not stop me from teaching about God to our kids, but I also feel like we should do it as a family. I know that I shouldn't force him to believe in God because faith doesn't work like that. If anyone is in the same situation, what does this kind of household look like? Any advice or related stories are welcome. Thank you!
Posted Apr 10, 2026, 12:59 AM UTC