Religion as a Platform for Justice

Listening to everyone’s experiences within other styles of church services pointed out a lot of things that broke the “norms” that most are used to, especially having grown up in specific churches. One of the things that stood out to me most was the congregation whose leader was openly lesbian and who supported a church that was extremely inclusive no matter the walk of life one comes from. Majority of the time, I personally have come to find that religion isn’t exactly all that welcoming of differing practices in sexuality and certain churches are often even very segregated as to the demographics of the congregation. However, a openly lesbian rabbi in a New York City synagogue is fighting  all of these “norms” by first, being open about her sexuality in general. To me this seems to be a growing trend with the upcoming generations and their religious experiences: people have come to make religious ideals and values to fit their own personal lifestyles which I think is an interesting take on religion and plays into the idea of spirituality that has become so popular. This New York City rabbi has held led and organized many protests through the church in regards to issues race and sexuality, most recently bringing together Jews and Muslims to protest Trump’s recent bans and orders and prides herself on leading a congregation for people who have been turned away from their family or from family synagogues due to their sexuality. I have found that it has been extremely common for people who have taken on new-wave roles within the church to use their religion and their position within their religion as a platform in order to fight intolerance, much like Sharon Kleinbaum.

http://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/outfront-lesbian-rabbi-fights-intolerance-love-n701151