Zoroastrianism Communication: The primary problem here is culturally-related. Loving someone and wishing to join in nuptials with that person is not enough if you are part of the Zoroastrian faith -- you have to go by those cultural rituals or be banished from the denomination. Outrageous as this seems to a Western person -- being banned for marrying someone outside your faith or having one's parents dictate whom you should marry -- making personal romantic choices is out of the question if one intends to be linked to Zoroastrianism. That said, a member of the Zoroastrian faith either accepts the arbitrary dictums accompanying the rituals and laws, or leaves the religion.

Because Zoroastrians are by tradition endogamous (they marry only within their own faith), this couple has a real problem if they intend to create a life together. Author Peter Clark suggests that Zoroastrians place very high value on the institution of marriage, and this is made clear by the fact that the woman's parents would actually ban their own flesh and blood for marrying outside Zoroastrianism (Clark, 1998, 112). First solution: they could get married in a civil ceremony in the United States and since...

If her parents reject her, she will have to be willing to bear that moral / personal burden. Second solution: they could go to India once their education is finished, have her parents meet her sweetheart and hope they will have a change of heart. Clark mentions in his book that a trend is beginning in which some Zoroastrians are marrying outside the faith (112). Third solution: get married in America in a civil ceremony and find jobs in the U.S.; and try nonetheless to stay connected to her parents.
Problem Solving: The scenario presented doesn't reflect how passionately committed the couple really is (albeit they are engaged so that seems very serious indeed), but the third solution has more going for it than the other two. She is a devoted Parsee and het her parents will banish her if she marries the man she has chosen to live with? She can avoid that embarrassment and emotional train wreck by cutting ties with them before they banish her. If love is stronger than blood ties, this could work. She can certainly follow her faith in the U.S., or, on the other hand,…