Not everyone has religious beliefs. Some people simply call themselves spiritual without subscribing to any one religion or form of beliefs, and others are satisfied to say that they don’t believe in anything and that religion and spiritual beliefs have no part in their lives. For those that do have religious and spiritual beliefs, whether they are strict daily rituals, once in a while traditions or anything in between, those beliefs are a part of their lives and will, therefore, come into play in their relationships and the way they choose to date.

The question that many ask is: How much of a role should religion play in dating and finding your life partner? However, there is not one answer to this question. Spiritual beliefs are very personal and differ from person to person, so it makes sense that the role religion will play in dating will vary from person to person as well. These religious preferences are easily monitored through singles dating sites, but it is not always easy to understand for yourself what your preferences are. Mostly every person will fall under the following three categories of religious beliefs. Let’s take a look at how each of these different levels of belief can affect a dating relationship and the process of choosing who you want to date.

Traditional Religions

For those who fall under the category of belonging to a traditional religion, whether or not religion should play a role in their dating life is not necessarily a choice they can make for themselves. Those who come from a deeply religious family and are raised in a certain religion are often expected to date and eventually marry someone who shares their religious beliefs out of respect to the tradition of their religion. To date or marry someone outside of their religion would cause major family rifts because of the blatant rebellion of their belief system. In this case, which is not the norm in America these days, religion is often a main consideration when choosing who to date because every dating relationship is seen as a potential marriage relationship.

For those who have religious beliefs such as these, is it very important to consider the religion of another person before choosing to enter a dating relationship with them. There will be religious traditions that need to be carried out within the family and the eventual children will be expected to be raised in those traditions as well.

Personal Religions

Personal religion goes beyond believing something in a traditional way or simply because it was the way you were raised. Those with a personal religion have come to a heartfelt belief independent of their family and friends, perhaps in opposition to the beliefs of family and friends, and they now choose to follow a certain religion because it is what they believe to be true. Those who fit into the above category of Traditional Religions are not necessarily excluded from having a Personal Religion, but those two types of beliefs are often independent of one another.

Someone with a personal religion will tend to have strong convictions about how they live their life. These convictions can range from having strict guidelines on what is right and wrong to strongly believing that there are only grey areas, and these convictions are more like beliefs on how one should live and act rather than rules dictated by tradition that they think one needs to follow. For this person, religion may or may not play an important role in choosing who to date. If your personal religion has not permeated your entire life or you do not see your religion as applying to every area of your life, then you may not believe that dating someone who shares your beliefs is important. However, if your personal religion is something that is so important to you that you hold it as a reflecting glass over every decision you make, then it would be extremely important to you to date someone who shares those beliefs as well.

No Religion

For those with no religious or spiritual beliefs, the answer is much simpler. If you don’t have any strict belief system in your life, then it will probably not matter to you what the person you are dating believes in - outside of extreme, cultish beliefs, of course. You do not see religion as needing to take any role in your dating life or in your choice of a partner. However, if you are strongly against any religious belief on principle, then you may steer clear of dating anyone who does not share your strong conviction in a lack of belief as well. It has become very simple to choose someone based on all kinds of criteria, including religious beliefs, through the popularity of dating sites which makes it easier to discover what you want in your partner.

Katy Perry is well known for being raised in a strict Christian home and then pursuing a secular career in the music industry. She married Russell Brand who practices Hinduism about which she said, “"I come from a very non-accepting family, but I'm very accepting. Russell [Brand] is into Hinduism, and I'm not [really] involved in it." Her personal religion or that of her partner was not something she thought needed to permeate their relationship, and that’s a decision she came to for herself.

To discover for yourself what role religion should play in your dating life, you must first work on discovering who you are and what you want out of your religious beliefs in the long run. Some questions to ask yourself are: What do you want to bring your children up to believe in? Does that even matter to you? Will you want to celebrate holidays that conflict with your partner’s beliefs? These are important questions that must be explored before entering a serious dating relationship and discovering where the religion enters into it for you.