Naomi Riley, author of ‘Til Faith Do Us Part: How Interfaith Marriage is Transforming America, reports that “Inter-political party marriages are far less common than interfaith marriages and slightly more common than interracial ones: Only 18 percent of married Americans have a spouse who claims a different political affiliation, compared with at least a third of Americans who are in interfaith marriages.”

Thus, it’s possible, but improbable that I’ll seriously date a liberal. If he’s moderate or apolitical, that’s great. He needn’t work in politics, and preferably he doesn’t. But after years of willful ignorance about compatibility, I’ve returned to the belief that successful relationships come when people are “equally yoked.” It’s a bit ironic for me, an agnostic, to quote the Bible, but, hey, the book has enough wisdom to last so long. For me, “equally yoked” means a couple is compatible on what matters most to each of them, whether that’s religion, location, kids, or fidelity. When there’s fundamental incompatibility, it’s a recipe for conflict.

This may be a chicken-or-egg matter, but culture and ideology profoundly shape behavior. When a man’s strongly held values clash with mine, I’d rather say “Adios!” than worry that disagreement about which movie to Netflix on Friday night could devolve into heated sparring about entitlement reform, Afghanistan, or charter schools.