Strangers to the Tribe: Portraits of Interfaith Marriage

Joshua Steinberg wears his Jewish identity proudly. His Catholic wife, Maura Fitzsimmons, is strongly attached to her Irish roots. For years, Josh's parents referred to Maura only as "the Catholic." How do Maura and Josh cope? Rebecca Grodin is the only child of two Holocaust survivors, haunted by the events that shaped her parents' lives. Her husband, Rick O'Neill, a Methodist of Irish-Italian descent, grew up in what he calls a "casually anti-Semitic" family. When he converts to Judaism, his relatives become even more alienated from him and his wife. In Strangers to the Tribe, Gabrielle Glaser introduces eleven interfaith couples, their families, and their dilemmas. These true stories, gleaned from scores of interviews with couples of all ages across America, show the many ways in which Jewish-and-Gentile couples are reconciling their household customs and holidays, learning to understand their in-laws, raising their children, and questioning their own religious loyalties.