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Relationships & Morality

Can Christians marry someone of a different race?

Yes, clearly. Race itself is never given anywhere in the Bible as a reason two people can't marry. It's worth being direct about that, since some groups have historically claimed otherwise using badly misread passages.

Some Old Testament commands did restrict certain marriages. But those were about shared faith, not ethnicity. They warned Israelites against marrying people who worshiped other gods and would pull them away from God—not about ancestry or skin color.

Scripture actually gives a striking counterexample. When Moses' sister and brother criticized him for marrying a Cushite woman—from what's now the region of Ethiopia or Sudan—God defended Moses and corrected them instead. God didn't agree with the objection.

Interpretations used historically to ban interracial marriage on religious grounds were misreadings, not legitimate biblical teaching. Mainstream Christian scholarship today rejects them clearly, without qualification.

Bible quotations in these answers are generally taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Some biblical wording may be paraphrased or follow other translations.

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