Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
FaithJesuitical

Podcast: Two Christians get married—what happens when one spouse leaves the church?

JesuiticalApril 09, 2021
Photo by Zoriana Stakhniv on Unsplash

Stina Kielsmeier-Cook had a plan. Or more accurately, she thought God had a plan: She would marry her college sweetheart, and their shared love for Jesus and radical Christian commitment to serving the poor would anchor their marriage in something real and eternal.

But a couple of years into their marriage, her husband, Josh, lost his faith, and now Stina is navigating an increasingly common reality: mixed-faith marriage.

We talk to Stina about her new book, Blessed Are the Nones: Mixed-Faith Marriage and My Search for Spiritual Community, in which she grapples with the challenges (and opportunities) of sustaining a marriage, raising kids and nourishing her own faith life in a new state of “spiritual singleness.” Along the way, she meets women saints, Catholic nuns and religious “nones” who point the way to a reimagined Christian community for an increasingly secular world.

In Signs of the Times, the influential (and controversial) Vatican II theologian Hans Küng has died at 93 and a look back at the Vatican’s Easter Triduum.

Links from the show:

Hans Küng, influential Vatican II theologian censured by John Paul II, dies at 93
Cardinal: Too many Catholics don’t understand that some church teachings can actually change
Don’t call Dorothy Day a saint. But a ferry? Sure.
Stina’s book: Blessed Are the Nones: Mixed-Faith Marriage and My Search for Spiritual Community
The Great Courses Plus (Get a month of unlimited access for free!)
Subscribe to America
Join our Patreon community.

What’s on tap?

Ginger Shrub cocktail

Jesuitical

A podcast from the young, hip and lay editors of America Media. Hosted by Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis.

Provide feedback on this article

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country. 
When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.

Most popular

1
Cardinal Pierre warns against U.S. church not working with the universal church
Justin McLellan – Catholic News Service
2
What happens when a diocese takes a synodal approach to parish restructuring?
Kerry Weber
3
Pope Francis tells nuns and monks: ‘Nostalgia’ will not save your monasteries from closing
Justin McLellan – Catholic News Service
4
Cover Story highlights the top picks from the editors of America Media
Maurice Timothy Reidy
5
I’ve always loved relics. After my cancer diagnosis, they mean even more to me.
Gregory Hillis

Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more.

Regional Directors of Youth Ministry and Discipleship
Jobs
Community at the Crossing
Volunteer / Vocation
Benedictine Spiritual Direction Training & Certification Program
Retreats, Spiritual Resources
Jesuit Spiritual Center at Milford
Retreat Houses, Retreats
Assumption University
Education, Universities
See all Classifieds

The latest from america

Interview: Big changes are coming for the Gregorian—Rome’s oldest and largest pontifical university
In this exclusive interview with Gerard O’Connell, the Gregorian’s American-born rector, Mark Lewis, S.J., describes how three Jesuit academic institutes in Rome will be integrated to better serve a changing church.
Gerard O’ConnellApril 22, 2024
Cardinal Grech in Ireland talks LGBT issues, the synod and the Vatican’s same-sex blessings doc
Speaking at a conference about the synod in Knock, County Mayo, Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, said that “Fiducia Supplicans,” will not affect the forthcoming second session of the Synod on Synodality.
Sarah Mac Donald - Catholic News ServiceApril 22, 2024
Cardinal Pierre warns against U.S. church not working with the universal church
Speaking with Catholic News Service before formally taking possession of his titular church in Rome April 21, Cardinal Christophe Pierre described the reality of the church in the United States as a “paradox.”
Justin McLellan – Catholic News ServiceApril 22, 2024
A preacher should offer the congregation a challenge—not cheap grace
Listen to Gemma’s homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B, in which she explains how her experience of poverty in Brazil gave radical significance to Christ’s words: “Make your home in me as I make mine in you.”
PreachApril 22, 2024