The documentary Leaps of Faiths is a popular source that focuses on the real lives of interfaith Jewish-Christian couples over thirty years in Chicago. The documentary is for a general audience and is also directed at interfaith couples. This film uses real life experiences to tell its story, which makes it easier to connect with the audience. The documentary uses interviews as its main source. The Jewish-Catholic couples and their families discuss major life events and decisions, such as Bar mitzvahs, baptisms, weddings, schooling, and daily struggles, showing what it’s like to raise kids in a household where two different religions are present.
A huge struggle demonstrated in the film is what to do when a child is born. One parent wants to baptize the child while the other wants a bris. Parents also have a tough time deciding on education. For example, a family in the documentary talks about the difficulties and pressures they felt when deciding whether to send their child to a Hebrew or a Christian school. Some send their kids to Hebrew school, others to Catholic Sunday school, and a few try to do both. One mom says she was scared her kids would get confused by learning two different religions, but she didn’t want to choose only one and leave the other parent out. When households have different faiths, there is often more tension and pressure, which can potentially be avoided by marrying within the faith.
Leaps of Faiths shows that love may bring interfaith couples together, but raising children in a household with two religions can be very challenging. The documentary shows that the largest struggles begin after the children are born, and they must choose which traditions to pass on. For example, in one scene, a Jewish mother discusses her concern that raising her kids with both faiths might lead them to “lose” their Jewish identity, while the father, who is Catholic, is concerned about his side of the family feeling like outsiders. Different beliefs about what’s best for their children can lead to stress and arguments.. Some couples try to raise their kids in both religions, which causes the child to be confused about their identity. Others try to pick one faith, which often causes anger or a sense of loss for the parent whose religion was not chosen.
The documentary also interviewed the children and discussed how growing up with two religions shaped their identity. One girl says she never felt like she fully belonged to either community. Another mentions how uncomfortable it was to have both a bat mitzvah and a First Communion. She describes how she felt split between two people. Another interview with a child who grew up celebrating both Hanukkah and Christmas shows how she felt confused. Similarly, another child who attended Hebrew and Sunday school felt overwhelmed and confused about what to believe due to different teachings. Leaps of Faiths shows how growing up in interfaith households causes confusion and feelings of being out of place.
This source is very interesting to me because it’s a glimpse of reality. They aren’t actors or made-up stories. They’re real people trying to figure their lives out. Watching their stories made me feel connected to their struggles because I have family members going through the same challenges as the children in the documentary. My cousins are stuck between celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah every year at home, which is very confusing for them. They are very young, but I always acknowledged their struggles.
Parents struggle with important decisions like whether to baptize their child or have a bris, or to send them to Hebrew school or Sunday school. These choices can lead to arguments, confusion for the children, and pressure from other family members who want the kids raised in their religion. The documentary shows that these conflicts are real and emotionally challenging, and struggles might be avoided if both parents shared the same faith.
Leaps of Faiths. Directed by David Kovacs and Steve Ordower, performances by Chava Bahle and others, Omnibus Entertainment, 2019.
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