University of Oklahoma Sororities - Religious preferences?
 

Can anyone enlighten me on the sororities and their religious preferences/participation at the University of Oklahoma?

I am particularly interested in those that accept girls of different faiths. We are Jewish and I would like to know if there are houses with initiations and requirements that would make us feel uncomfortable. Also are there specific houses that revolve around attending bible study, church attendance, etc. If would be helpful to know about this before going through sorority rush.

I know that this may sound crazy in 2013 but the school I went to in the 80s had sororities that did not take Jewish girls. And there were sororities that made their members/pledges go to church and bible study. (I was a member of a sorority that was mostly Jewish...SDT. They are not a OU and neither is the other predominately Jewish sorority, AEPhi).

Also, does anyone know of any houses at OU that have Jewish members?
Thanks so much!
A crazy Jewish mother.

I am not familiar with the campus, but I doubt any of the chapters have actual "requirements" to attend bible study, church, etc. However, I can't speak at all to the unwritten rules. Hopefully, that's something that will be apparent during rush, and if there are chapters that wouldn't be comfortable with a Jewish member (or vice versa) will release your daughter before it becomes an issue.

As far as ritual, nobody will tell you that, either, but at least one of the groups represented at Oklahoma has Jewish founders, so there's that.

I am Jewish and joined a house founded on Christian principals. There was no church requirement. I attended synagogue for high holidays, brought my own matzo to the house for Pesach. I don't keep kosher, so that was not a problem. The Jewish based sorority on campus had closed the semester before I attended the school. We are talking about the early '70's and I had no problems. I am still VERY active with my Alumnae Association.

Hope this helps.

DaffyKD

I doubt, at least for the sororities, that it's going to be a very big deal. My SIL is a Chi Omega alumna and my cousin is currently a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at OU and I've never heard of any sort of churchy requirement at all. At the school I graduated from (about 45 minutes north of OU), it'd be irrelevant.

There are two sororities that are founded on Jewish principles...Alpha Epsilon Phi and Sigma Delta Tau. Delta Phi Epsilon was founded to welcome all.

What I would do is to find out if there is an Hillel on campus. If yes, call them and see what information is available.

That being said the world is emerging on an ecumenical front. My daughter pledged a sorority which was founded on Christian principles. At the holidays they had a menorah and a tree. There wasn't a "Problem". There may be a different culture in other schools or regions.

I didn't go to OU but I'm from and live in OK, and I don't think it should be a problem. I know a few Jewish girls who pledged at OU and none of them seemed to have any issues. I am an atheist who joined a Christian-founded sorority (not in OK), and though there were girls who went to church and had bible study, it was extra curricular to the sorority. Hope this anecdotal information helps.

We had a couple of sisters who are Muslim in our chapter. (Not OK.)

Just to clarify, you mean not Oklahoma, rather than not acceptable?

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate your feedback. I was a member of SDT at another University and know that they do not have an SDT or AEPhi at OU. There is a Hillel and I stopped by on Friday night. They were great!! I was able to meet some sorority members while I was on campus and they were all very impressive! It was Mom's weekend and it was so fun to see everyone hanging out and walking around town. I'm not familiar with OU at all and appreciate any specific advice on sorority rush that any of you can offer to me.

Are you from Oklahoma? This is a very "bibley" part of the country. When I moved here I was taken aback by random strangers telling me to have a "blessed day" and things like that. So, OU is going to have a higher incidence of evangelical Christians than some other universities might. A lot of girls know each other from Young Life and Kanakuk and other Christian camps and activities. However, I know many, many sorority members and alumnae from OU, including my own younger sisters, and have never heard of required religious practice of any kind. My sisters are both Catholic and were never comfortable with the evangelical crowd, but they loved their sorority experience at OU and I don't know that religion was ever an issue.

(I do know of one chapter of my sorority in the SEC that attends church together. When our chapter consultant made an official visit, she was a bit uncomfortable since she is Jewish. That is the only chapter I have ever heard of doing that though. And even that chapter couldn't have had 100% participation in a Baptist church activity, since it is a chapter of over 200 members. No way they are all Baptists!)

Being an Oklahoman (& starting at OU), there are several women in sororities (based on Christian ideals) who are Jewish, as well as many other faiths.
There was a time where invitation was faith-based, but nowadays, if a group likes you (& you like them), faith is not a barrier.
(Unless you are in a cult and tell everyone during recruitment that you want to convert the whole sorority -- well, that might be an issue!)

Oh, crap. Yes. I mean "Not at Oklahoma," as in we didn't go to Oklahoma.

Heh, when I worked at OU, I constantly thought to myself "Wow, I never thought being a Roman Catholic would put me in the liberal faith..."

It was so very different from my incredibly mixed up mid-atlantic/british life.

Such beautiful houses and so different from what I knew as an active- I always wanted to play anthropologist and sit in the bushes writing field notes during rush week.

Chapter church in the south is not unheard of though I doubt it's as prevelant as it used to be.

Yeah, we did it in the 90s, though we did change the church each time to be inclusive. I have to say, we had two Buddhist sisters that I think may not have been overly comfortable going. It was mandatory, too.