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page 6 Hye Sharzhoom March, 1981 Intermarriage in the Armenian community By Helen Samourian Aharon Aharonian, author of a socio-religious study entitled "Intermarriage and the Armenian Church in America," focuses on the inevitable death of the Armenian race in America. Mr. Aharonian explains the psychological phase of denial to this coming event, which will clearly become fact within 10-20 years from the date of this article. The cause of this death, he goes on to explain, will be intermarriage, but not so much intermarriage as the rejection of intermarried couples by the general population of Armenians within the church and cultural organizations. For though it is clear that many Armenians who intermarry do marry in the Armenian church, their attendance and participation in church and other organizations after the marriage are nil. As has been emphasized previously, many Armenians tend to treat the couples as outsiders. The negative feeling which is projected is not always a conscious intension on the part of the Armenian. Regardless, it is transmitted, especially to the non-Armenian partner and felt as a rejection. A natural reaction to this rejection is that of defense to protect the ego (self). This defense may be in the form of anger, denial, etc. The non-Armenian naturally begins to feel negatively toward Armenianism, and the Armenian spouse and their children are also turned off. I must emphasize at this point that not only do Armenian people reject "outsiders," but this behavior is widespread among all peoples of various cultures, religions, and even socio-economic groups. Aharonian states "All ethnic and religious groups are basically opposed to their members intermarrying." Statistics show intermarriage is a common occurance in the U.S.A. and is even more common as ethnic barriers fade in the second and third generations of U.S. natives. Statistics show that Armenian females marry non-Armenian males at a slightly higher rate than Armenian males marry non-Armenian females. Recent Armenian immigrants to the U.S. marry non-Armenians more frequently than is commonly realized. Although statistics for Armenians marrying non-Armenians in non-Armenian churches were not pooled, the statistics for mixed marriages in our churches are very high. Also, one must note the decrease in the number of marriages performed in the Armenian church dignity to raise our voices and fists Rahageets; continued from page 3 In all honesty, had it not been for this increased visibility and vocal- ness, the non-Armenian would never have given us a second look. Were we naive enough to believe that we would attract the attention of those outside our small community by sitting on our laurels and reciting annual praises of our past glories? We have started to become newsworthy because we have started to make the news. Let us recognize the fact that this sudden interest in Armenian affairs is not the result of any genuine concern that the non- Armenian may possess regarding our people and present situation. As dedicated newspeople, the non-Armenians are solely interested in news breaking today, all else is considered "stale." Thus it should not seem strange to us that the entire subject of the Armenocide, the consequences of which still haunt us today, has remained an issue untouched by the non-Armenian media. The passing of 65 years has squeezed all the "freshness" and "newsworthiness" out of the Armenocide — that is until quite recently. We Armenians have slowly, even begrudgingly, started to break through the cocoon of staleness and mediocrity that has bound us for so long. We have begun to get our message across to the world in way3 unthinkable to us even five years ago- Too many amongst us somehow still believe that it is beneath our before the eyes of an impassive world. Others are of the opinion that it is best that we do not agitate the forces that be and that we leave well enough alone. Such an outlook does not portend much in the way of change for our present situation. Also, it provides nothing in the way of inspiration for today' s Armenian youth. It would be a sad commentary indeed on the Armenian character, which has historically proven itself courageous in the face of insurmountable odds, if we were to resign our destiny completely to alien forces and changing times. We have begun to get our message across to the world... This path of analysis inevitably leads the Armenian to a most important juncture regarding his or her future direction. What will determine the path to be taken is the answer one gives to the following query: Namely, does one feel comfortable and secure with the present state of Armenian affairs throughout the world? If the answer is yes, then one logically perceives his or her role in Armenian affairs as a mere spectator, resigned to passively accept the consequences of future events and processes as they continued on page 7 between 1950 and 1976; contributing to this factor may be the loss of members and their families through intermarriage as years progressed. At mid-century, statistics from Armenian churches in New England were as follows: nine percent (12 couples) of 136 marriages for 1950 entered into mixed marriages, by 1976, 81 percent (50 couples) of 62 marriages for that year were mixed marriages — a ninefold percentage increase. By adding an approximated unknown number of Armenians who married outside the Armenian church, the mixed marriage percent would be closer to 90 or 95 percent. Aharonian states several facts that explain the dramatic increase in mixed marriages, and he has also given us clues to why intermarriage takes place: 1) Loss of group cohesion (physical and social). 2) Improvement in socio-economic status (hence moving away from the "ghetto"). 3) Socialization and higher education (beginning to see "commonalities" with other American minority groups). 4) Armenian Christian traditions are compatible with the large Christian society in the U.S. (unlike living with the Turks). 5) Formation of middle class and professional groups (freedom of development under one system). 6) Loss of traditional cohesive values (through moving up the "socioeconomic" ladder, many social contacts are non-Armenian). 7) Ecumenical spirit-Christian cohesiveness encouraged by Christian priests of all denominations (ecumenical spirit included Jews.) 8) Heightened awareness of being white and belonging when the Black Power issue arose in the late 1950's. 9) "Americanization" of the Armenian Church (bi-lingualism). 10) "Romantic love" concept accepted as the ideal motivation for marriage in the U.S. (it doesn' t recognize ethnic boundaries). "Though we Armenians still feel a chronic anxiety about losing our religious, cultural, and ethnic identity, we do nothing to hold our intermarrying couples, but rather reject them, and hence lose both them and their children." ■ Subscribe to Hye Sharzhoom <_ —* Ukilkp)il|uifiuij muuiGniiGlipm Riuifuiqmifuip up whnji ii|)iui}i mGhGuij JbphqGnjJi tftg SutntuQplpuj Ifutput uiitunuuii 'Xl-hii 29, "rutfpSpnpiipnj Xiuiiuiiiajujliii j^ut— il'uifuuipujiipi, tf£$ (Sfphqito) uibqp uiftutp mhLhiuj utifhppltutZuij uluui— iinnitkpnL -i uu/'ujlf n ii/iuri ifp : &kj hlni-iplfhiuh, "fiui£ptpnphpnj OiwZuihifutjph 4,utif:vt uuipuiiih Z,utJ III utu'lirtijujii UpnLfVhutii uiuihiituiuhuip puuiL , fttl; ->uiifiuif ni il'uspph itutuiuiuth — iihp/^ii if^tfii £ uiifhphlfUt^uij ptifnp /»« uluiin ffiiLpntif tfp9hi- 4 luuuiiuuiki lit.put llUJUlhp , UMt-hip luhip Aiujii ifp hi lutbih ithh "lihpitpnt.it ifp ittAih — "liiuim. C.iuifiup uufhpphui^utjnLiVpLiip jm tirtrj siupghnnL tu nil int-ffh tit ifp : £uiifuiu.ntifuipp phftfuigpph tttpuip jiiiuutphnLpit tttifhpphitt4titjnt-tfhuih oppituitiuiii iJinopitiifitiulinLp7pt.ii ifp it in nil iui n lu | uiifhpphhtuii outituioui— Ifiuiint-flhiihit iihpu 4tttjhpnL 4huiut— itipiitiitti iitituiuiuiltiihpnL.ii, ^uijhpnL ifhpuinpnLnn ui4uiphhinLftpL.iiithpnL iihuiuitfuttfp utifhpphiu4uLjnLi9huiii np — lj ti lip k j ft ft llpp^pil hL IUJI U1J </lf£tll~ Ifuiii ifutuj'intf-nLfVpLiiiihpnL •ihui ui— n.piiinLnn •iuipghpp : Z,uiifuia.nLifuipp ufftutft npuinp iiuihi. Ullfhpfltlhuiil SUllfuilU.UtpUjitilhpp With — pfihui^uij hhuiiiap LuiphLnp hhiipnii— ilhpnL lihpUlbhlllL ItuiphinnLfVpLiiiih — pnL oiiiiuipbnLifntl: HifhppifUiZiuj rsLuuiunniihpnL C.UI— JuiunLitiupp upuutkpnL.it, utiinitg pit— pTuiUDpii nptihtLpnLiiii puiiiiu&ht.hpnLii bl JhbtuJutuunLpr'uuiu Autjuntf utn.- iinLUtb npniuLifuhpnL.it Jutupii ufputp utututpuMuutnLpit juiutntJf AuinnptLUt— upnLpTpLuiihp, fnju pitauijULk^nL <u/- Jutp <lujL- hL oututp JuiJnLfjpii tft.£'. ^uitfuia-nLifuipfi Ifiuqtfuilfkpufp^ nL— uutiinnutlfuiit jutiiAituifunLifpp if put— ifuilfutii otfuiutjUilfnLpr'pLiiiihp Ifp sutj — gt ^utjltuilfuiii IfuiuJutlfhpufnLpr'pLii— iihpt^ hL 4uij uiiiGuiutiihpt, ^niiuiinL iuitfuip <Zuiifutu.nLifujppii rfutuiiuilfgln ihuiiftutgnii nLituiitnniihpnL dutiiui— uiuip^uiautfuuhpp: U.JU uirtiifmftfLuiiip hL in j i ifuiiipuiifuiuiinLfJpLiiithpnL \ut— ifui,i ttutphfp £ 'lt"^^l &.***%*f**4f&ftf*l lUiiiAiiuifunLifpfiiii \huihLhutf 4iiiug£nif Armenian Students Organization California State University Fresno, CA 93740:
Object Description
Title | 1981_03 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper March 1981 |
Alternative Title | Armenian Action, Vol. 3 No. 3, March 1981; Ethnic Supplement to the Collegian. |
Publisher | Armenian Studies Program, California State University, Fresno. |
Publication Date | 1981 |
Description | Published two to four times a year. The newspaper of the California State University, Fresno Armenian Students Organization and Armenian Studies Program. |
Subject | California State University, Fresno – Periodicals. |
Contributors | Armenian Studies Program; Armenian Students Organization, California State University, Fresno. |
Coverage | 1979-2014 |
Format | Newspaper print |
Language | eng |
Full-Text-Search | Scanned at 200-360 dpi, 18-bit greyscale - 24-bit color, TIFF or PDF. PDFs were converted to TIF using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. |
Description
Title | March 1981 Page 6 |
Full-Text-Search | page 6 Hye Sharzhoom March, 1981 Intermarriage in the Armenian community By Helen Samourian Aharon Aharonian, author of a socio-religious study entitled "Intermarriage and the Armenian Church in America," focuses on the inevitable death of the Armenian race in America. Mr. Aharonian explains the psychological phase of denial to this coming event, which will clearly become fact within 10-20 years from the date of this article. The cause of this death, he goes on to explain, will be intermarriage, but not so much intermarriage as the rejection of intermarried couples by the general population of Armenians within the church and cultural organizations. For though it is clear that many Armenians who intermarry do marry in the Armenian church, their attendance and participation in church and other organizations after the marriage are nil. As has been emphasized previously, many Armenians tend to treat the couples as outsiders. The negative feeling which is projected is not always a conscious intension on the part of the Armenian. Regardless, it is transmitted, especially to the non-Armenian partner and felt as a rejection. A natural reaction to this rejection is that of defense to protect the ego (self). This defense may be in the form of anger, denial, etc. The non-Armenian naturally begins to feel negatively toward Armenianism, and the Armenian spouse and their children are also turned off. I must emphasize at this point that not only do Armenian people reject "outsiders," but this behavior is widespread among all peoples of various cultures, religions, and even socio-economic groups. Aharonian states "All ethnic and religious groups are basically opposed to their members intermarrying." Statistics show intermarriage is a common occurance in the U.S.A. and is even more common as ethnic barriers fade in the second and third generations of U.S. natives. Statistics show that Armenian females marry non-Armenian males at a slightly higher rate than Armenian males marry non-Armenian females. Recent Armenian immigrants to the U.S. marry non-Armenians more frequently than is commonly realized. Although statistics for Armenians marrying non-Armenians in non-Armenian churches were not pooled, the statistics for mixed marriages in our churches are very high. Also, one must note the decrease in the number of marriages performed in the Armenian church dignity to raise our voices and fists Rahageets; continued from page 3 In all honesty, had it not been for this increased visibility and vocal- ness, the non-Armenian would never have given us a second look. Were we naive enough to believe that we would attract the attention of those outside our small community by sitting on our laurels and reciting annual praises of our past glories? We have started to become newsworthy because we have started to make the news. Let us recognize the fact that this sudden interest in Armenian affairs is not the result of any genuine concern that the non- Armenian may possess regarding our people and present situation. As dedicated newspeople, the non-Armenians are solely interested in news breaking today, all else is considered "stale." Thus it should not seem strange to us that the entire subject of the Armenocide, the consequences of which still haunt us today, has remained an issue untouched by the non-Armenian media. The passing of 65 years has squeezed all the "freshness" and "newsworthiness" out of the Armenocide — that is until quite recently. We Armenians have slowly, even begrudgingly, started to break through the cocoon of staleness and mediocrity that has bound us for so long. We have begun to get our message across to the world in way3 unthinkable to us even five years ago- Too many amongst us somehow still believe that it is beneath our before the eyes of an impassive world. Others are of the opinion that it is best that we do not agitate the forces that be and that we leave well enough alone. Such an outlook does not portend much in the way of change for our present situation. Also, it provides nothing in the way of inspiration for today' s Armenian youth. It would be a sad commentary indeed on the Armenian character, which has historically proven itself courageous in the face of insurmountable odds, if we were to resign our destiny completely to alien forces and changing times. We have begun to get our message across to the world... This path of analysis inevitably leads the Armenian to a most important juncture regarding his or her future direction. What will determine the path to be taken is the answer one gives to the following query: Namely, does one feel comfortable and secure with the present state of Armenian affairs throughout the world? If the answer is yes, then one logically perceives his or her role in Armenian affairs as a mere spectator, resigned to passively accept the consequences of future events and processes as they continued on page 7 between 1950 and 1976; contributing to this factor may be the loss of members and their families through intermarriage as years progressed. At mid-century, statistics from Armenian churches in New England were as follows: nine percent (12 couples) of 136 marriages for 1950 entered into mixed marriages, by 1976, 81 percent (50 couples) of 62 marriages for that year were mixed marriages — a ninefold percentage increase. By adding an approximated unknown number of Armenians who married outside the Armenian church, the mixed marriage percent would be closer to 90 or 95 percent. Aharonian states several facts that explain the dramatic increase in mixed marriages, and he has also given us clues to why intermarriage takes place: 1) Loss of group cohesion (physical and social). 2) Improvement in socio-economic status (hence moving away from the "ghetto"). 3) Socialization and higher education (beginning to see "commonalities" with other American minority groups). 4) Armenian Christian traditions are compatible with the large Christian society in the U.S. (unlike living with the Turks). 5) Formation of middle class and professional groups (freedom of development under one system). 6) Loss of traditional cohesive values (through moving up the "socioeconomic" ladder, many social contacts are non-Armenian). 7) Ecumenical spirit-Christian cohesiveness encouraged by Christian priests of all denominations (ecumenical spirit included Jews.) 8) Heightened awareness of being white and belonging when the Black Power issue arose in the late 1950's. 9) "Americanization" of the Armenian Church (bi-lingualism). 10) "Romantic love" concept accepted as the ideal motivation for marriage in the U.S. (it doesn' t recognize ethnic boundaries). "Though we Armenians still feel a chronic anxiety about losing our religious, cultural, and ethnic identity, we do nothing to hold our intermarrying couples, but rather reject them, and hence lose both them and their children." ■ Subscribe to Hye Sharzhoom <_ —* Ukilkp)il|uifiuij muuiGniiGlipm Riuifuiqmifuip up whnji ii|)iui}i mGhGuij JbphqGnjJi tftg SutntuQplpuj Ifutput uiitunuuii 'Xl-hii 29, "rutfpSpnpiipnj Xiuiiuiiiajujliii j^ut— il'uifuuipujiipi, tf£$ (Sfphqito) uibqp uiftutp mhLhiuj utifhppltutZuij uluui— iinnitkpnL -i uu/'ujlf n ii/iuri ifp : &kj hlni-iplfhiuh, "fiui£ptpnphpnj OiwZuihifutjph 4,utif:vt uuipuiiih Z,utJ III utu'lirtijujii UpnLfVhutii uiuihiituiuhuip puuiL , fttl; ->uiifiuif ni il'uspph itutuiuiuth — iihp/^ii if^tfii £ uiifhphlfUt^uij ptifnp /»« uluiin ffiiLpntif tfp9hi- 4 luuuiiuuiki lit.put llUJUlhp , UMt-hip luhip Aiujii ifp hi lutbih ithh "lihpitpnt.it ifp ittAih — "liiuim. C.iuifiup uufhpphui^utjnLiVpLiip jm tirtrj siupghnnL tu nil int-ffh tit ifp : £uiifuiu.ntifuipp phftfuigpph tttpuip jiiiuutphnLpit tttifhpphitt4titjnt-tfhuih oppituitiuiii iJinopitiifitiulinLp7pt.ii ifp it in nil iui n lu | uiifhpphhtuii outituioui— Ifiuiint-flhiihit iihpu 4tttjhpnL 4huiut— itipiitiitti iitituiuiuiltiihpnL.ii, ^uijhpnL ifhpuinpnLnn ui4uiphhinLftpL.iiithpnL iihuiuitfuttfp utifhpphiu4uLjnLi9huiii np — lj ti lip k j ft ft llpp^pil hL IUJI U1J |