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Children cause much of the pulling & hauling between parents of different faiths. Only occasionally do parents split the difference (" 'The oldest [of our children] is Catholic and the youngest Lutheran' "). Sometimes a family turns into a denominational grab bag. Said one girl: "Mother is a member of the United Brethren church ... I have one sister who is Christian Science, one who is Free Methodist, and I am Lutheran.' " When the interviewer asked how this worked out when they were together, she replied: " 'We have to leave off the subject of religion altogether ... I am sure we are not as close as sisters should be . . .'"
Writes Professor Leiffer: "Divergent religious attachments, if they are taken seriously, generally constitute a basis of conflict, especially after the advent of children. Only a few instances of homes broken because of religious diversity were discovered through this study, but in numerous families the tension continued to be acute, even after twenty years of marriage." He adds: "It is abundantly clear that interfaith marriages have unfortunate results for organized religion."