Why straight people go to gay synagogues

[IndianaGreen]

Last update - 07:20 05/06/2009

Why straight people go to gay synagogues

By Jay Michaelson, The Forward

In the next few weeks, gay and lesbian synagogues and Jewish organizations will be marching in New York, San Francisco and other cities around the country as part of gay pride parades.

But many of the people marching won't be gay themselves: More and more "gay" or GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) synagogues have significant percentages of "straight allies" among their membership - in some cases, even majorities.

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. Maybe all of us have something to learn here. I've visited many of these communities in my job as a GLBT religious activist, and I've spoken to many of the straight-identified people who take active roles, including leadership roles, within them. My reflections on this trend are anecdotal, but I've seen at least three major factors in play, all of which have something useful to teach the wider community.

First, because of their community bonds and shared histories of exclusion, GLBT synagogues are often warmer and more welcoming than your average synagogue in the suburbs.

These are communities made up of people who have felt, at times, actively excluded from the Jewish world, perhaps as all Jews used to feel when they were excluded from the mainstream of America. GLBT people have experienced rejection, and so GLBT synagogues work hard to make up for it.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1090663.html

[RetiredTrotskyite]

1. I'm not surprised....

sometimes those with a shared history of oppression and exclusion find that the similarities which unite them are greater than those which might divide them.

[Withywindle]

2. Yup, and also...

...I don't know if I'd say this in GD, but I think GLBT people have a broader, deeper understanding of sexuality and gender than most straight people. Simply more time and energy invested in thinking about it. If you know you can't just go with the flow and be like "the norm" you have to put thought into figuring out what your own way really is.

Doesn't surprise me at all the same would apply to religion, if you've felt excluded from "the norm" you have to really work to find what your own relationship to your faith is. You might very well find yourself MORE actively engaged and committed, and more knowledgeable, than someone who kind of cruised along going through the motions they were taught because they fit in more easily. I think naturally this is attractive to other serious seekers.