What is interfaith marriage counseling, and how is it different from regular couples counseling?

Interfaith marriage counseling addresses the specific challenges that come from two partners holding different religious beliefs, practices, or levels of faith. Therapists who don't have specific training or experience in interfaith relationships might miss the importance of how to raise children across belief systems, navigate extended family pressure, or feel connected without sharing the same spiritual framework.

What's the difference between "interfaith" and "mixed faith" marriage counseling?

"Interfaith" usually describes couples from two different religions, while "mixed faith" is a broader term that also includes couples where one partner is religious and the other is secular, agnostic, or has changed beliefs since the relationship began. We use both terms because we work with all of these relationship types.

Do you offer interfaith marriage counseling throughout California, or just in Riverside?

We offer in-person sessions at our Riverside, CA office and online interfaith couples counseling for clients anywhere in California. Many interfaith couples prefer online sessions for added privacy, especially when family members disapprove of the relationship or when they can't find a specialist in their area.

Is online interfaith marriage counseling as effective as in-person?

It can be! We recommend that you and your partner are together when you join your online sessions. We may direct you to touch, look in each other's eyes, or otherwise connect. That magic can happen whether you're in our office or not. We also have the option of a couples therapy retreat, which is an intensive service for couples who want to come in-person but don't live close enough to come to us every week.

Can interfaith marriage counseling actually save a struggling marriage?

Yes. Most conflict in mixed faith marriages isn't really about religion itself — it's about feeling unheard, disrespected, or like you have to choose between your partner and your beliefs. It's about loyalty, betrayal, love, and sometimes doctrine. With the right support, couples can find ways to fully express their worldview while staying deeply connected to each other and without sacrificing their core values.

How do interfaith couples decide how to raise their kids?

There's no single right answer; some families introduce both belief systems, some choose one, and some focus on shared values rather than specific practices. Part of our work is helping you find an approach that feels authentic to both of you, not one partner conceding to the other. We want to help you create a family where your children benefit from the best of both of you!

What if our families don't approve of our interfaith relationship?

Family or community disapproval is one of the most common stressors interfaith couples face. We help you build a united front as a couple while finding respectful ways to set boundaries with extended family, without requiring either partner to abandon their beliefs or their relationships with their parents.

Is interfaith couples counseling religious or faith-based therapy?

No. Our approach is clinical, not religious instruction. We take what we've learned from our professional education and research in the field and apply that to your unique situation. We don't advocate for one faith, belief system, or worldview over another. Our goal is to help you and your partner communicate and problem-solve effectively, regardless of what either of you believes. It would be against the ethical standards of our profession to attempt to change your religious belief or to convert. We're not theologians or apologists. We're couples therapists, here to help your relationship be healthy and satisfying for you both.

How long does interfaith marriage counseling typically take?

This varies by couple, but many couples see meaningful shifts within 8-16 sessions, especially when both partners are committed to the process. Some couples also choose our intensive retreat format for faster results.

Interfaith Couples Counseling for Mixed-Faith Marriages and Interfaith Families

In person sessions in Riverside CA or online sessions for people in California

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Mixed Faith Marriages and Interfaith Families are each unique!

We will help you figure out what works for you, even if that doesn’t look like anyone else’s relationship or how anyone thinks relationships should be. You committed to be with your partner because you love each other. You are your best self when you’re around them. You smooth out each others’ rough parts. You are each others’ best friends and favorite teammates. Or at least that’s how life used to be… Your differences in faith and religious belief/practice are overshadowing all that good. You fight more now. You’re lonely even when you’re with your best friend and favorite teammate. Are you even teammates anymore? You wonder how this relationship can possibly work given how different you are.

Let’s define our terms

While these terms are sometimes used interchangeably they are different!

Interfaith

Interfaith refers to relationships in which both parties practice or identify with different religious traditions. It can sometimes be challenging to find an interfaith marriage counselor who supports both beliefs as equally valid. And these couples may also benefit from support of communities or families who respect the beliefs of the other.

Mixed-Faith or Secular/Religious

Mixed-faith refers to relationships in which one parter practices or identifies with a religious tradition and the other does not. Finding secular religious marriage counseling that honors the validity of both ways of being is essential for these couples. They need community that honors a secular life as valid AND that respects religious belief and practice.

Close up of a person's hands near their chest as if preparing to pray. This is for interfaith couples counseling in California — How you got into a mixed faith or interfaith marriage

You might have known from the start you were entering a mixed faith or interfaith relationship and have found out that it’s more challenging than you expected. Your faith differences might not have been an issue until you had kids and have to decide how you will raise them. One or both of you might have lost, changed, or found faith since getting together. This one comes with its own difficulties. You’re both facing huge life changes that you didn’t expect - either a major change in yourself or the effects of a major change in your partner. You might never have chosen this, and yet, here you are. We can help. We provide interfaith marriage counseling to couples throughout California via secure video sessions.

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Challenges Mixed Faith Couples Face

Different Values
Finding Shared Community
Creating Traditions
Parenting

Feeling connected when you don’t share world views, religious practice, or ways of finding meaning, peace, and comfort.
Finding shared community. Faith-based communities are easy places to find friends and social supports when you both belong. Finding shared friends and shared community as a couple is more challenging when you don’t share religious beliefs or practices
Creating traditions and deciding which rituals and holidays you will observe.

Parenting. This is a big one. Many people who are very comfortable allowing difference with their spouse find themselves in battle when it comes to the kids.

Will the kids go to church, temple, mosque, synagogue, all of the above, or none at all?

Will we introduce our kids to both our belief systems or choose just one? Will that confuse them?
How will the kids get religious education?
How will the kids get moral education?
Which holidays or rites of passage will we introduce to our kids?
What will our parents think?
Will other adults have more influence in the lives of my kids than I do?
Will I become irrelevant, or worse demonized, in the eyes of my own children?

Photo of a woman in a suit jacket looking at the camera. The text says "Rebecca Williams Mixed Faith Marriage Expert. I can help you find love through your differences" offering interfaith couples counseling in California — There is hope

IECC owner Rebecca Williams is a mixed faith marriage counselor. Whether you work with Rebecca or one of our team of fantastic couples therapists trained by Rebecca, we can help you reconnect, find creative solutions to the challenges you face, and get you back to being best friends and favorite teammates. We know that each mixed faith marriage is completely unique. We will help you figure out what works for you, even if that doesn’t look like anyone else’s relationship or how anyone thinks relationships should be. We believe there is enough love and respect in the world to allow both partners in a mixed faith marriage to:
have full expression of their beliefs,
have access to the places and traditions that bring them meaning and peace,
be full partners in their relationship,
be co-equal partners in parenting,
and to feel completely loved and connected to each other at the same time!
Your relationship might even become stronger and better because of these challenges!

Schedule a Free Consultation

Online Interfaith Couples Counseling vs

In-Person Counseling in Riverside CA

Finding the right interfaith couples counselor is a challenge for many interfaith or mixed faith couples. You may not be able to find anyone in your area offering secular religious marriage counseling. It’s hard to find a therapist who works with these issues that truly doesn’t have an agenda or isn’t pushing a belief that one faith is preferred or that the problems can be solved by one of you (de)converting or giving in. We don’t do that here.

With our online interfaith couples counseling you will get the privacy of working with someone outside your community if privacy from family or faith leaders is a concern. You also get the convenience of meeting from your home, where you are likely to feel the most comfortable. We do encourage you and your partner to be physically in the same space for your online counseling sessions.

If you would prefer to be in-person with the therapist, you can come to our offices in Riverside, CA. We love having you here! If you don’t live close enough for a weekly trip to Riverside to be practical and you want to be in-person, we can design a couples therapy retreat to address your concerns and help you find solutions for your interfaith or mixed faith relationship.

Your Questions About Interfaith Marriage Counseling, Answered

Interfaith marriage counseling addresses the specific challenges that come from two partners holding different religious beliefs, practices, or levels of faith. Therapists who don’t have specific training or experience in interfaith relationships might miss the importance of how to raise children across belief systems, navigate extended family pressure, or feel connected without sharing the same spiritual framework.
"Interfaith" usually describes couples from two different religions, while "mixed faith" is a broader term that also includes couples where one partner is religious and the other is secular, agnostic, or has changed beliefs since the relationship began. We use both terms because we work with all of these relationship types.
We offer in-person sessions at our Riverside, CA office and online interfaith couples counseling for clients anywhere in California. Many interfaith couples prefer online sessions for added privacy, especially when family members disapprove of the relationship or when they can’t find a specialist in their area.
It can be! We recommend that you and your partner are together when you join your online sessions. We may direct you to touch, look in each other’s eyes, or otherwise connect. That magic can happen whether you’re in our office or not. We also have the option of a couples therapy retreat, which is an intensive service for couples who want to come in-person but don’t live close enough to come to us every week.
Yes. Most conflict in mixed faith marriages isn't really about religion itself — it's about feeling unheard, disrespected, or like you have to choose between your partner and your beliefs. It’s about loyalty, betrayal, love, and sometimes doctrine. With the right support, couples can find ways to fully express their worldview while staying deeply connected to each other and without sacrificing their core values.
There's no single right answer; some families introduce both belief systems, some choose one, and some focus on shared values rather than specific practices. Part of our work is helping you find an approach that feels authentic to both of you, not one partner conceding to the other. We want to help you create a family where your children benefit from the best of both of you!
Family or community disapproval is one of the most common stressors interfaith couples face. We help you build a united front as a couple while finding respectful ways to set boundaries with extended family, without requiring either partner to abandon their beliefs or their relationships with their parents.
No. Our approach is clinical, not religious instruction. We take what we’ve learned from our professional education and research in the field and apply that to your unique situation. We don't advocate for one faith, belief system, or worldview over another. Our goal is to help you and your partner communicate and problem-solve effectively, regardless of what either of you believes. It would be against the ethical standards of our profession to attempt to change your religious belief or to convert. We’re not theologians or apologists. We’re couples therapists, here to help your relationship be healthy and satisfying for you both.
This varies by couple, but many couples see meaningful shifts within 8-16 sessions, especially when both partners are committed to the process. Some couples also choose our intensive retreat format for faster results.

Schedule a free phone consultation

Get some tips for thriving in your mixed secular religious marriage

Rebecca was invited as an expert guess to discuss the challenges of living in a mixed marriage after one partner leaves religion. You can see the full presentation below.

Get started at home today

We have a free mini course Foundations of a Mixed Belief Relationship that will teach you the most important skill for helping your interfaith or secular / religious relationship thrive.

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