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Race, women and health · Claim record

The Watchtower of 15 July 1960 said God's Word does not forbid marriage between the races and that "no one should criticize" a couple who marry across racial lines, while advising that such couples would probably face more "tribulation", that their preaching opportunities might be restricted, and that where anti-miscegenation laws applied they "would have to move" to a jurisdiction where the marriage was legal.

Claim ID claim-attitudes-race-1960-interracial-cautionConcerns 15 July 1960Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 15 July 1960 Verified

The Watchtower of 15 July 1960 said God's Word does not forbid marriage between the races and that "no one should criticize" a couple who marry across racial lines, while advising that such couples would probably face more "tribulation", that their preaching opportunities might be restricted, and that where anti-miscegenation laws applied they "would have to move" to a jurisdiction where the marriage was legal. The Watchtower, 15 July 1960

Show the evidence (1 source)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Questions From Readers”

15 July 1960 · pp.447-448 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“God’s Word does not forbid marriage between the races. On the contrary, it shows that all races are related in that they all came from one man originally. … It is quite likely that those who marry across racial lines will have more of this tribulation than will others. … Then again, the law in certain lands and states forbids interracial marriage. Since Christians must recognize Caesar’s right to regulate marriage, Christians residing in such states or lands and contemplating interracial marriage would have to move to a land or state where such marriages are legal, and it would be inadvisable for them to return to their own land or state or to go to any others having such laws.”

The reader’s question is "Is it wrong for a white person and a colored one to marry if they truly love each other?" The answer says no, then lists practical cautions: added tribulation, restricted preaching opportunities, obstacles for any children, and "the law in certain lands and states" that then forbade such marriages. It closes: "If two persons of different races decide to take such a step, no one should criticize them."

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read from the document’s own HTML, twice and independently; the page markers read 447 and 448 and the printed citation line reads "w60 7/15 pp. 447-448". An earlier version of this record ended the quotation at "… where such marriages are legal." with a full stop; in the document that sentence runs on past a comma, and the rest of it is now quoted.

Corroborated by. src-race-w-1973-1201-qfr-interracial

Notes. The extract that circulates on critical sites omits the opening sentence, “God’s Word does not forbid marriage between the races”, and the closing one, “If two persons of different races decide to take such a step, no one should criticize them.”

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-race-w-1960-0715-qfr-interracial

Claim page Correct or update

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-attitudes-race-1960-interracial-caution/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.