"The world needs more good people of all faiths, and Sikhism is definitely a contribution to that path."

How so?
A puzzling summation since you know next to nothing about Sikhism.

Follow the links, Tom.

I'll add that any religion that had 2 of its 10 founders martyred for defending other faiths' religious freedom is off to a very impressive start.

Eh - there's the CULTURE that practices the religion, and then the ideas and ideals of the religion. Important to remember not to mix them up. Try dating a daughter of a Sikh immigrant, you will find equality isn't a big part of it. Remember this story?

But I believe this is as much social as anything else - The Punjab, even now, hews to an older standard of "family authority" - you do what your parents tell you to do, or you bring immense shame upon the family - as one of the primary functioning principles.

The movie East is East details some of this belief system as well, if you have seen it, and unfortunately the family violence depicted in the movie is not as uncommon as one would think it is. (No idea of figures, but I've heard stories. Just anecdotes, not statistics.)

The Sikh center for the Bay Area, used to quietly deny new seekers from its doors, if they were not of Indian descent.

That ended awhile ago however - these things get better with time. As is usual, by the second generation, there is much more immersion into the "melting pot".

And then of course you have the other extreme, where Sikh Indians are mistaken for Muslims soon after 9-11 (becuase of the flowing beards and turbans) and then abused - and in once case in Arizona killed - because of this mistake.

That was right after 9-11 though, I can't think of anything like that happening in the last few years.

Its a tragedy that Sikhs are being confused with fundamentalist muslims in western countries because of similar physical appeareance (beard and turban) and targeted, when in fact Sikhs (among others) are at the forefront of fighting Jihadis.

Wonder if you've seen any hindu wedding too. Its also interesting experience. The hindu wedding rituals differ depending on which part of India you hail from.

"The world needs more good people of all faiths"
Amen to that brother

JC is correct re: always keeping in mind the difference between the religion as professed and as practiced. Likewise, the point about the second generation being very different from the first is true. I could see that phenomenon for myself, and suspect it will feed into issues like family violence (probably normalizing them around the general average).

I'm also glad the Bay area Sikh center will now accept non-Indians. That's real progress toward the ideal.

RE: dating the daughter of a Sikh. I don't expect that I or someone like me would be received well.

Indeed, I would not even expect that this would be something that might change, absent some indicators that I might be someone who had very complementary values, began to show real understanding of Sikhism, and might be interested in becoming a Sikh.

Though I will add that my friend's family was Hindu, and it seemed to go all right.

Sikhism, like some parts of Judaism (and once, all of Judaism), insists that it is the repository of a mission and values. As such, it frowns upon mixed marriages. Especially when the result is so disproportionately to assimilate its existing believers rather than add new ones.

This is not entirely irrational. My Reform Rabbi will officiate at a gay wedding, but not a Jew/non-Jew marriage. He explained it to me once - the Jewish wedding stands for something, and part of that something is the continuation of the Jewish life and mission. Absent conversion, we don't have that. So for my Rabbi, two gay Jews who wanted to do that to the best of their ability were fine with him; the absence of that commitment is not.

(Yes, I'm aware that for Orthodox Jews, the concept of two gay people continuing the Jewish mission and ways is a contradiction in terms. Reform Judaism has a different view.)

So, I kind of grok where the Sikhs are coming from on that one.

I am a Sikh. There are key reasons why Sikhs do not agree with marriages with non Sikhs. A Sikh wedding like a Sikh is centred around Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Sikh holy scriptures. The wedding is a vows to Guru that the couple will work together to get closer to god.

How can a non Sikh bow to the Guru and go through an Anand Karaj (Sikh wedding ceremony) with out knowing the significance of what the Guru is saying and actions being done?

Sikhism is a religion with a universal message. We do not look to convert but to encourage each man/women to follows there faith truly. It’s about giving equality to men and women, all races, caste, creed and faiths.

I have an audio discussion and power point from a workshop done at a University last month I will try and upload this for you. It will help to explain Sikhs and marriage better.

i have got this homework about jewish and sikh weddings and the differences and simularities. is there anyone who would be willing to help me with it? rosie hall aged 14.