Christian vs Jewish vs Other??
 

After the formal pledging ceremony for my new sorority I got to thinking about the oath my fellow new members & I took....it mentioned God, Christ to be more specific. We go to a school associated with a certain Christian faith so it's no wonder my sorority and I'm sure others here at my college are Christian. But what do you do if you get that far and by your own convictions and beliefs can't say something in your orgs. creed, oath etc? I know ZBT is traditionaly a Jewish frat but what are the other frats and sororities? Are there any greek orgs that DON'T mention God in any way? What about the mention of specific figures in mythology? I'm reminded of an OLD episode of BH 90210 when the girls were rushing...if only life were that simple.

There are 3 NPC sororities that are considered non-sectarian (ie. they are not based on any singular religion and their founders represent several different faiths, usually a combination of Christian and Jewish). These groups are Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Sigma Sigma and Alpha Omicron Pi.

Sigma Delta Tau and Alpha Epsilon Phi are historically Jewish but welcome everyone.

I know that some National groups, with approval of their national council, will allow a non-Christian member to substitute G-d for Christ in rituals. There are some women that consider this 'not good enough' and depledge. For others, the religion aspect is not as important as the meaning of sisterhood and the overall mission of the group.

Barbara

Some orgs do mention Christ and Christian figures (like saints) but they also mention Greek and Roman gods of mythology. It's not saying you have to believe Jesus is the Messiah (after all, Jews believe Jesus existed, just not in his Messiah-dom) or believe in Minerva or whoever - it is more that those figures exemplify QUALITIES the orgs look for in their members.

The religion factor was difficult for me.

While my sorority was founded at a southern Christian university, and with Christian principles. My large chapter includes a couple Atheists (like me) and about 10-15 Jews. We have amended our traditions so the religion part is fairly optional and for the most part, abstaining from mentioning God or scripture is not an uncommon situation.
It's hard because everything mentions God in some form or another, especially our Creed, which I want to live by wholeheartedly, but don't agree with a few parts.

While being silent and respectful during some parts of our goingson is fine with exec, I do get some pretty rude comments and looks from sisters. I just remind myself that I joined an organization based on leadership, scholarship, and sisterhood; not a bible study so I shouldn't allow myself to feel out of place.