Interfaith marriages divide couples in Burundi
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Yaga Burundi
Burundian couples face obstacles from religious leaders when they want to marry someone of another faith. Testimonies describe refusals to bless marriages and demands for conversion before the union, according to Yaga Burundi.
In Burundi, couples facing interfaith marriages encounter refusals from religious leaders to bless their union when the partners belong to different faiths, according to Yaga Burundi. Some leaders require one of the future spouses to change religion before they can celebrate the marriage.
E.N., a Burundian woman quoted by Yaga Burundi, says she broke up with a first fiancé after church leaders refused to bless their union and asked the young man to join their denomination. With a second partner, she maintained the relationship despite another refusal from her church, and the couple eventually had their marriage celebrated by the fiancé’s church.
After her marriage, E.N. retained the possibility of praying in her original church, but was subjected to penance there and forced to restart her religious journey as a new member, according to Yaga Burundi.
