A reader asked:

How do you rebuild your marriage after leaving Christianity?

Depends.

One of the most difficult places to be in is when one marriage partner leaves Christianity and the other doesn’t.  A mixed marriage is difficult and more than a few couples end up divorced, unable to find a common ground for a successful relationship. For this reason it is not surprising that some new atheists keep their godlessness to themselves, contenting themselves with living in the closet for the sake of their marriage and family.

In my case, my wife and I came out of the Promised Land together. We journeyed back to Egypt  hand-in-hand. My wife is an agnostic and I am an atheist. This, in and of itself, is amazing. As Christians  we had no diversity, no place for disagreement.  Now, we are free to be whatever we want to be.   There are no rules, no strictures that force either of us to believe certain things.  We are free…

It is wonderful that we can be in agreement on many of the changes that have come our way. It makes life a lot easier when the person you sleep with agrees with you.

For Polly and I the past 3 years have been a time of reflection and beginning anew.  Without God and the Bible as our rule and guide we have been forced to rethink what we believe about morality and ethics. The fact the we are both political liberals helps a lot. (though we disagree on some issues)  Long-held beliefs are now up for reexamination. It is not easy to take a hard look at things you have believed for most of your adult life.

Instead of talking about sin we talk about good or bad. Our list of things we think are bad is much smaller these days.  We now have the freedom to accept people for who and what they are. (though we still have biases and prejudices that show up now and again) No more Bible judgments of the lifestyles and beliefs of others.

If you are a married couple considering leaving Christianity or have already left Christianity:

• Don’t be in a hurry.
• Don’t flame everyone or everything in your past. (easier said than done , but when you are more settled in a few years later you will be glad you didn’t flame everyone in your past)
• Talk, Talk, Talk.
• Read, Read, Read.
• Talk, Talk, Talk.
• Respect one another and allow for differences of belief. Not everyone comes to the same place at the same time.
• Always allow for open and frank discussion. Learn the difference between arguing and discussing.
• Now that Jesus, the church, and the ministry is no longer the tail that wags the dog, take time to learn what the other person likes to do.  Who are they?
• Remember the Church often sucks the life out of people, out of marriages. Self is often lost in  religious communities that promote the denial of self.  Both marriage partners  have to  become reacquainted with who they really are. This can be a difficult process and it might result in a marriage partner that is very different from the person you married.  Be patient……
• Rekindle the flames of love. Many times Christian marriages suffer because Christians are taught to love Jesus first. (and that gets translated by pastors into a long list of things to do) Now that Jesus is no longer your lover you are free to rekindle your love for your marriage partner.
• Don’t be afraid to seek out help from others who have walked this path before you. Don’t be afraid to seek out a competent (non-Christian) counselor to talk to if you need to.  Talking to someone is NOT an admission of failure.

The above mentioned thoughts are just that…..thoughts. No seven steps to a happy marriage. These things helped my wife and I and continue to do so as our marriage continues to evolve.

I know both Polly and I can say we love where we are now. Despite the difficulties we face due to my health problems our marriage continue to grow and mature. Is our marriage perfect? Nope. Not even close. But it is, for a flawed human relationship pretty awesome.