Rachel Kelley and Kelly Tripicchio

WRD 104

Toulmin Method

Claim: Interfaith marriage is not as simple as many people may assume.

Qualifier: People who are not in an interfaith marriage are qualifiers

General Exception: People who would be disowned from their families for marrying outside their faith or excommunicated from the church are general exceptions

Reasons: Tradition and community may have a larger impact compared to individualism and personal choices.  Newer generations see religion as more of a personal lifestyle and journey rather than the older generations who would only associate with people of the same faith. Differences in rituals can separate couples. Accepting other religions can have underlying issues that are forgotten at first. The identities that someone has because of their religion may not be compatible with another.

Evidence:

• Families may disown relatives who marry into another faith because of how important a role religion plays in the family.  Orthodox religions such as Orthodox Muslims and Orthodox Jews are required to marry someone of the same faith.
• Also, churches could excommunicate a member because of an interfaith relationship and that could strain the relationship they have with the church and their partner.
• Rituals and traditions, such as holidays, may bring up problems and out stress on the relationship because of planning conflicts with families and different faiths. If there is an interfaith marriage between a Christian and Jew then there may be an argument on which holiday to celebrate and devote more time to.
• No one wants to be the one to sacrifice his or her beliefs and traditions. The identities of a religion can be connected to cultural and racial differences, which have been known to cause conflict. Different religions come from different backgrounds and it may be difficult to mesh these religions and cultures, especially when raising children is an issue. 

These types of in class assignments increased my rhetorical knowledge and gave me opportunities to practice before setting out to do my own writing. Reading these other authors' articles also helped me develop the ability to read and evaluate the writing of others with accuracy, understanding, and insight. I had never been introduced to the Toulmin analysis before, so being able to practice it multiple times was helpful. The challenges I encountered while analyzing "Toulmin" style was mostly concerning the qualifiers and exceptions of a piece.