Dating Outside Your Religion By David Wygant

I grew up in a predominately Jewish neighborhood in New York where virtually everyone was brought up to grow up and marry other Jewish people.

When I was in my twenties, I used to party in the Hamptons in the summertime. During one of those summers, a friend of mine was dating the most amazing woman, whom we all loved and with whom he was in love. Despite that, he had to break up with her because she was not Jewish.

Now I am about as Jewish as my dog. I’m a bad Jew. I can’t tell you what the Rush is in Rosh Hashanah is, or exactly what the Yom is in front of the Kapur. The closest I get to “Yom”ing is when I “ohmmm” in my yoga class.

So I’ve been labeled a bad Jew by some of the fellow members of the tribe . . . and that’s okay because I’ve dated outside my religion since high school. Personally, I am a spiritual person who believes in the laws of the universe, is definitely into energy and karma, and who believes in some sort of higher power.

Just like I think the job of President is way too big for one person, I believe God must be a huge committee of people. As for Jesus being spotted reincarnated on a grilled cheese sandwich . . . whatever.

The bottom line is that I am not here to bash religion at all. Whatever you believe is fine with me. If you want to go to church every Sunday, go for it. If you want to go to Temple, more power to you. If you’re a Buddhist, good for you.

Here is where I do have an issue religion-wise: when someone eliminates as a partner an incredible person just because their parents want them to marry within their religion. Do you know how many adults I run into whose parents torture them over having to marry within their religion?

Notably, many of these same adults do not themselves care about whether they marry someone of the same religion, but they won’t stand up and tell their parents that they are not going to pass the super-religious genes onto the next generation. To those people I say: It’s your life!

Stop dating people because your parents expect you to marry another Jew, or another Catholic, or another whatever. Most people I know are not religious at all, yet a lot of these same non-religious people still feel the need to date within their own religion due to their parents and their upbringing.

I’ve dated women who chanted every morning when they got up and prayed to Buddha. I’ve dated women who go to church. Have I gone with them? No. Have I respected them and their belief system? Absolutely!

What is important is the person inside. Religion is something you either relate to or you don’t. So if you’re not religious and you are over thirty, it’s time to dig down deep and look inside yourself. Stop not dating people because your mother doesn’t want you to date them.

The other day my Labrador Daphne told me she wanted to become a Buddhist dog, as she was already proficient in downward facing dog. So I respected her decision and allowed it, even though my dream was to have a litter of Labrador puppies with yamakas on their heads celebrating Hanukkah with us this December.

So don’t forget when Christmas comes around to wish me a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I like Christmas . . . especially when I get to dress up in a Santa Claus outfit and beautiful women sit on my knee.