By, Rosa Doherty
1 min read
ByRosa Doherty, Rosa Doherty
A mixed-faith couple who raised one child Catholic and one Jewish said they did so to keep both faiths in the family.
The Greenbergs of Pennsylvania raised their daughter, Katie, as a Catholic, and gave their son, Steven, a Jewish upbringing.
Diane Greenberg said: “Before we were married, we both felt strongly that we would like to pass religion on to our children and we had to come up with something, so we talked about bringing up one child one way and one another.”
Katie was baptised and attended a Catholic school; Steven was circumcised and went to a Hebrew school run by Chabad Lubavitch.
Katie, now 24, said she still identified as a Catholic, while her brother, 21, said he was agnostic.
She said: “I didn’t think much about it when I was a kid. And my parents were very good about it. There was never any pressure from them. It was really just normal for us.
“I think it made sense for them so we went with it and I think they did a good job with it. I felt like I got exposed to a lot of viewpoints and beliefs and opinions, which was pretty nice.”
Mrs Greenberg said: “I didn’t know where my kids were going to wind up, or what was going to happen. It wasn’t like we were trying to keep score and I wanted them to be definitely Catholic or definitely Jewish. But I did want them to be well-rounded.”
Bob Greenberg said he was not sure why his son did not keep his Jewish faith.
He said: “By and large, Steven’s experience was not a whole lot different than mine except that he didn’t get through the very important ceremony of the barmitzvah.”
