I'm Catholic, he's Christian.

Well.. Catholic is Christian... Do you mean Protestant? I don't think you can marry in the Catholic Church without converting.

Those aren't different religions.

I believe he does not need to be Catholic but my FH is converting before the wedding because he wanted to so I do not know for sure.

You can marry in the Catholic Church without him converting. My parents did. My mother is Catholic and my father is protestant. I believe that you need to get a dispensation from the Bishop and it is generally recommended that you not have a full mass. You will need to agree to raise any children Catholic.

You will have to be in your church for at least a year and have been going to service. In addition he doesn't need to be catholic however he will need to agree to raise any children in the catholic church. In addition you both you have to take religious classes before the priest will marry you.

Call your local church and speak to a priest.

We have a catholic priest marrying us and my FH is definitely not catholic. Because he was baptized my priest said the Catholic Church considers him a "non observant Christian" which makes it okay for him to marry us. It has not been an issue at all. Don't stress but have the conversation with your priest.

That is not exactly mixed, but the only authority on this will be your local priest.

I think that different dioceses do it differently.

I married my ex husband in the catholic church. He was not catholic, I am. We did not do a full mass and had a deacon marry us.

My son Harold is A Penticostal Christian & his Fiance' Michele is A Roman Catholic,

They are very different in their religious beliefs but it can work as if they are no different...they will be married in her Church by the Priest (it's all still in front of God) with full Mass including Holy communion but he is also not conforming or converting to Catholicism & she is not changing to A Penticostal? an both families are satisfied with they're choice, they are able to marry in the Catholic Church because she is A member & he will submit to they're polices of going to the couples training retreat & councling sessions as they should do no matter what religion they come from

He doesn't need to be catholic unless you want to do a full mass. As long as you get permission and do pre Cana etc you can have a ceremony in the church

So, Catholicism and Christianity currently are not the same thing. i think what op means is that her FH is a modern christian and she is catholic. Catholics have to go to confession before taking communion whereas most Christian churches don't do communion at all. Catholics believe in praying to saints, Christians do not. Catholicism is a branch of Christianity but they are not inherently the same.

OP: i am Atheist and my FH is Christian. we sat down and discussed it and ultimately decided to go with a non religious ceremony. before anything, i would ask your FH if he really wants a pastor, if he does not have a preference, great! do it your way! if he does, then you need to compromise.

Yes you can yet married in a catholic church he can convert if he wants too but it's not compulsory. They do request thou that you as the catholic member try your best to grow your children in the catholic faith.

Yep, you will need to ask your pastor if/how this works.

A relative did this about 25 yrs ago. They married in the Catholic church, her H did not have to convert; but....they did have to 'promise' to raise their future children in the Catholic faith.

ETA timing...what Delisa said! lol

My husband and I were married in the Catholic Church but we chose to not have a full mass. At the time, he was not Catholic. There are even instances of a Catholic marrying a Jewish person or even atheist and the wedding taking place in the church. It's totally allowed. It is very explicit that mixed marriages are allowed within the church. Speak to your priest or local parish. You will have to participate in the pre-Cana program and your spouse will basically be agreeing to raise your kids Catholic. If you decide to have a full mass, which you can do even if he's not Catholic, your FH will just not be able to participate in communion. Your marriage will be valid and sanctified but it will not "count" as a sacrament.

FH is Jewish. We're getting married in the Catholic Church. Just doing a ceremony no mass, but all the preparations and details are Catholic. I'm not sure the Church is flexible to mix traditions during the ceremony. Doesn't hurt to approach your local priest and ask.

I think this just depends on your church. Some are much more lenient than others who are more traditional. Call the church where you want to get married and ask to be sure

Chiming in here with the "Your friendly historian of religion and also a Protestant who converted to Catholicism" feedback.

First, Every Christian denomination that I know of holds Communion, or Eucharist, as a sacrament. So, most Christian churches do "do communion", but how often they do it varies greatly. Catholics have Eucharist every Sunday; so do Episcopalians and some branches of Lutheranism (both Protestant); the Presbyterian Church where I grew up did it once a month, and lots of the Baptist churches my family has been involved with over the years had it once a quarter (so, once every three months). Also, confession is a vital part of every Christian tradition--the difference in Catholicism is that it's a formal sacrament, whereas in most Protestant churches it's informal (so, while as a Catholic I confess to a priest in a confessional, whereas when I was Protestant I prayed a confessional prayer wherever and whenever I wanted to). Finally, Catholics don't pray TO saints--we ask the saints to pray FOR us. The best illustration of this is the Hail Mary, which ends by asking the Virgin Mary to "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death."

*Takes professor hat off and comes back to the wedding forum.*

OP: You and your FH are both Christian. He's Protestant, and you're Catholic. If he's been baptized, there probably will be no trouble getting married in the church. You'll need to talk to your priest, and the marriage will be considered "valid but non-sacramental" (because Catholics view marriage as a sacrament but Protestants don't). You will have to get a dispensation from the bishop, but in every diocese I've ever looked at they are flexible and willing to do that.

If you want a Catholic wedding, start talking to your priest NOW. Marriage prep takes a long time and may take longer with the dispensation.

It depends on the specific church and the priest. Most will say both parties must be Catholic. But I've seen Catholic priests agree to marry the couple where one isn't Catholic without requiring the person to convert. In fact, my FH's brother, who is Jewish, married his wife this past summer in a Catholic church!

He will not have to convert unless he chooses to. FH is Catholic and I am not but we are getting married in the Catholic Church. I will not be converting (at least not yet) and we will be doing a full mass I just won't be able to take communion. Deffinitely talk to your priest!