InterfaithFamily

InterfaithFamily (IFF) empowers people in interfaith relationships—individuals, couples, families, and children—to engage in Jewish life and make Jewish choices, and encourages Jewish communities to welcome them. Since 2000, 71 percent of non-Orthodox Jews have married someone of a different religion, and many of these couples have felt uncomfortable in or disconnected from Jewish life. One couple called IFF a “life preserver in a sea of uncertainty” that navigating an interfaith relationship is. IFF offers resources to couples and families in person and online, and supports them by promoting acceptance in Jewish organizations and institutions through cultural change. 

Across the country and online at InterfaithFamily.com, IFF provides a support system that might otherwise not exist in homes, families, and synagogues. Its site publishes information about life cycle events and holidays, provides interfaith wedding advice and parenting resources, and hosts online classes and a Jewish clergy officiation referral service. In 2016, IFF/Chicago fielded 102 officiation requests, consulted with 172 individuals, organized 921 encounters with individuals in Jewish learning and community-building experiences, worked with 125 participants in professional development training, and participated in 15 meetings/programs of other organizations. Offline, through the IFF/Your Community Initiative, locally based rabbis and their teams connect interfaith couples and families, help them find Jewish clergy for their life cycle events, and build relationships as trusted advisors. In Chicago, IFF has partnered with several Jewish organizations and facilitates training for professionals such as camp counselors and teachers to understand their role in creating inclusive, sensitive, and welcoming Jewish programs for interfaith families. IFF offers tools to help create an individualized yearlong strategic plan for inclusion, and its professional development curriculum, webinars, online coaching sessions, and in-person training assist organizations in creating culture change. Welcoming and embracing people in interfaith relationships contributes to Judaism’s enduring strength and continuity. IFF is working hard to ensure Judaism gets even stronger and endures for thousands more years.