Reform Judaism umbrella poised to back transgender rights
ORLANDO, Florida (JNS.org) The umbrella body of Reform Judaism in the U.S. is set to pass a resolution to recognize the rights of transgender individuals.
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) will vote on the “Resolution on the Rights of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People” at its biennial conference in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday.
URJ’s Commission on Social Action prepared the resolution affirming Reform Judaism’s commitment to “full equality, inclusion and acceptance of people of all gender identities and gender expressions.” If passed, Reform congregations, clergy, congregants, and other affiliate institutions will be asked to refer to transgender people by the name and gender of their choosing, include gender-neutral bathrooms, and use gender-neutral labels.
They will also be called upon to create programming and materials that “will empower such institutions to be more inclusive and welcoming of people of all gender identities and expressions,” reported the Forward.
Other religious movements that have affirmed similar resolutions include the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, according to the Associated Press.
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Pew study: U.S. religious belief down, Jewish daily prayer up
WASHINGTON, D.C. (JNS.org)– While America has seen a decline in religious belief and behavior in the last seven years, the majority of Americans are still religious, according to the Pew Research Center’s newly released 2014 Religious Landscape Study. Thirty-five percent of religiously affiliated Jews say that religion is very important to them, a slight decline from the same survey conducted by Pew in 2007, but Jewish religious activity increased in the area of daily prayer and attendance of religious services.
A group of 35,000 Americans were surveyed to get an overview of the religious landscape of America since the last study of this kind was conducted by Pew in 2007. Americans describing themselves as religiously affiliated decreased from 83 percent to 77 percent. Across religions and levels of affiliation, the number of those who believe in God, pray daily, and attend prayer services all declined.
Jewish respondents, however, reported an increase in daily prayer from 26 percent in 2007 to 29 percent in 2014. “Weekly or more” Jewish attendance of religious services was 19 percent, up from 16 percent. Christians also showed an increase in their daily prayer, and 68 percent find religion very important in their lives compared with 66 percent in 2007.
An increased number of Jews and Christians surveyed consider themselves to be more spiritual. The overall decline in belief, according to Pew, is largely due to Millennials who are unaffiliated with religion and now make up about 23 percent of the U.S. adult population. Their beliefs tend to be more liberal, for example, in attitudes toward homosexuality and abortion, and they make up about 38 percent of all registered Democrats, showing a potential for greater influence over partisan politics.
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Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman. Any comments in the space below should include the writer’s full name and city and state of residence, or city and country for non-U.S. residents.
Here in Cincinnati, the home of Reform Judaism, the complaint I hear from the Reform congregations is that they are losing members. I do not hear this complaint from Orthodox congregations. In fact they seem to be growing. Perhaps the activities referred to in this article may be one small reason for the disaffection of the Reform members.
Jerome Liner, Cincinnati, Ohio