Windows and Doors

Windows and Doors

Why Do Straight People Go To Gay Synagogues?

posted by Brad Hirschfield | 10:08am Friday June 5, 2009

This reminds me of the old joke about the reporter who asked the famous bank robber, Willy Sutton, why he robbed banks. Sutton replied, “Because that’s where the money is”.
People attend a particular synagogue because that’s where the meaning is, at least for them. But what that meaning is, and how they find it, is the topic of this fascinating article about straight people attending gay synagogues.
What do you think?



Previous Posts

Apple's "Jew or Not Jew" App -- Should It Be Legal?
An Apple application that let users guess which French politicians or celebrities are Jewish was pulled from France's App Store. but its American equivalent is still available. French activist groups said the "Jew or Not Jew?" app violated bans on compiling information on people's religion and rev

posted 1:18:48am Sep. 18, 2011 | read full post »

Is God A Christian?
R. Kirby Godsey’s new book, Is God A Christian?, challenges what the author describes as the commonly held belief among many religious people that the God in whom they believe is “one of them”.  People, Mr. Kirby observes, too often confuse God’s religious identity with their own, leading t

posted 11:59:56am Sep. 12, 2011 | read full post »

Remembering 9/11 - Part One
The tenth anniversary of 9/11 brings up many emotions and presents some very real challenges, among them how to remember the past without being imprisoned by it.  This video, filmed at St. Paul's, the church closest to the World Trade Center site, is a wonderful example of rising to that challen

posted 2:40:58pm Sep. 08, 2011 | read full post »

Gilad Shalit, Still A Prisoner After 1,900 Days
Below is a copy of the Statement I got from the White House, and while I appreciate the words, I can't help but also ask, "Is this the best we can do?"  United States Mission to the United Nations Office of Press and Public Diplomacy 799 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 (212) 41

posted 9:04:17am Sep. 08, 2011 | read full post »

Is Realty TV Really Kosher? The Ethics Of Realty TV
I know, at first it seems that ethics and reality TV are about as connected as fire and water – one being the antidote for the other.  But perhaps it’s not as simple as that, a conclusion supported by the recent spate of articles arguing that reality TV producers need to create, and commit, to

posted 6:34:55pm Sep. 07, 2011 | read full post »

Advertisement
Comments read comments(6)
post a comment
Your Name

posted June 5, 2009 at 11:18 am


Of course you can’t have a gay synagogue, or a gay church or straight synagogue for that matter, but you can have a synagogue led by a gay Rabbi, or a synagogue with a predominantly gay congregation.
DIRECT QUOTE FROM CITED ARTICLE:
“Although there are no precise statistics quantifying this trend, it is unmistakable to anyone who visits one of these congregations, and, in an era of shrinking synagogue affiliation, prompts the question of why these institutions are growing among a population they do not even try to serve.”
These synagogues don’t try to serve the straight population’s spiritual needs? Do they actually say this prayer is being offered up for only our gay members? This ritual is only for gay members? This talk is only for gays; everyone else go outside? No, of course they don’t.



report abuse
 

Paul Oakley

posted June 5, 2009 at 2:23 pm


Your Name is correct that there really isn’t such a thing as a gay synagogue or gay church. However, there are synagogues and churches whose primary mission is to serve gay people who have all too often been unwelcome or in some way denigrated in many of the traditional alternatives.
Such synagogues and churches can be attractive to people other than their initial primary target audience because of the (comparatively) radical inclusion they practice.



report abuse
 

MARY

posted June 5, 2009 at 6:39 pm


PERHAPS BECAUSE OF PURE CURIOSITY THEY GO TO GAY SYNAGOGUES.



report abuse
 

JamesM

posted June 7, 2009 at 8:25 am


I am so pleased to see this happening in the progressive Jewish community, just as it is happening in the progressive Christian community. Thank you for sharing this artice.
Peace/Shalom



report abuse
 

Marian

posted June 7, 2009 at 3:29 pm


GLBT-oriented congregations are this generation’s version of the feminist-friendly congregations of thirty years ago–in both cases, a congregation chooses to address itself to the needs and concerns of a previously ignored subgroup, and in the process, makes itself friendly to all kinds of other people who don’t quite fit into the “official” model of Jewish congregants. For instance, in studies of the influence of feminism on Jewish congregations, we have ascertained that not only are women learning Torah and liturgical skills, but so are men who did not have the standard yeshiva or day school education and have felt marginalized as a result. Encouraging the participation of women had the unexpected side effect of encouraging the participation of men with lower levels of Jewish education. I suspect that the same kind of thing is happening in the GLBT congregation in which I now participate.



report abuse
 

Husband

posted June 8, 2009 at 10:04 am


I am not a jew, but have been a member of the (largely gay) Metropolitan Community Church for more than a quarter of a century. Our congregations are increasingly heterosexual because, as the article stated, “Inclusion is inclusion”.
There’s a Christian saying, “Whosoever will may come.” That pretty much sums up MCC’s theology. We humans don’t get to decide.
People reject the scorn, vilification, marginalization, reduction, demeaning, diminishment, debasement of God’s gay and lesbian children that is peretrated so often by the ‘religious’ ‘right’. Check out the myriad comparisons – right here on Beliefnet – of gay relationships to “marryin’ a plant” (or a “rock”, or a “bicycle”, or a “child”), or to bestiality, necrophilia, incest, cannibalism, rape, murder, etc. If that’s what some ‘str8′ people of faith do in the name of their Lord, then it’s easy to see why some str8 folk go to ‘gay synagogues’ or churches. Thinking people see (and, thankfully, reject) such lies and understand it to be what it is – hatred, pure and simple. (Not to mention that bearing false witness is a sin. One of the ‘Big 10′ if I’m not mistaken.)



report abuse
 

Post a Comment

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.

Share this story


About Beliefnet

Our mission is to help people like you find, and walk, a spiritual path that will bring comfort, hope, clarity, strength, and happiness. More about Beliefnet.

Help

Media Kit

Subscribe

Legal

Copyright © Beliefnet, Inc. and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. Use of this site is subject to Terms of Service and to our Privacy Policy. Constructed by Beliefnet.

Advertisement

Report as Inappropriate

You are reporting this content because it violates the Terms of Service.

All reported content is logged for investigation.