Page "Conservative Judaism" Paragraph 48

:" In the past, intermarriage ... was viewed as an act of rebellion, a rejection of Judaism.

Jews who intermarried were essentially excommunicated.

But now, intermarriage is often the result of living in an open society .... If our children end up marrying non-Jews, we should not reject them.

We should continue to give our love and by that retain a measure of influence in their lives, Jewishly and otherwise.

Life consists of constant growth and our adult children may yet reach a stage when Judaism has new meaning for them.

However, the marriage between a Jew and non-Jew is not a celebration for the Jewish community.

We therefore reach out to the couple with the hope that the non-Jewish partner will move closer to Judaism and ultimately choose to convert.

Since we know that over 70 percent of children of intermarried couples are not being raised as Jews ... we want to encourage the Jewish partner to maintain his / her Jewish identity, and raise their children as Jews.