Are Jewish sororities going to be pressured/forced by NPC to change their rituals?

[Kevin]

It should be up to each organization to decide for itself. I'm all for moving beyond the 19th century and more inclusivity. I treasure my fraternal existence and have great relationships with men of different races, nationalities, and orientations as a result. Do I cringe when I look back and remember a Muslim brother being required to interact with a Bible in front of all of his brothers? Why not make reasonable accommodations so that rituals are more meaningful and inclusive for all?

I don't know your individual rituals, and don't expect you'd share, but not addressing these things smacks a bit of Christian/white supremacy, and considering the troubled history of many of our groups in that regard, I'd hope we'd all be moving decisively to address it so that we can continue to be meaningful into the 21st century.

I have been astonished at how quickly and how open my organization has been to being open to members of the trans community who identify as male and how positive my own chapter's approach to that issue was.

I see some of these aspects of ritual as something akin to these Confederate statues coming down--a constant reminder that our organizations roots are thoroughly white and Christian and that while we may welcome many diverse members, we somehow feel a need to continually remind them of that. Is that a good choice to be made in today's climate? Is that the hill we're going to die on?

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I see some of these aspects of ritual as something akin to these Confederate statues coming down--a constant reminder that our organizations roots are thoroughly white and Christian and that while we may welcome many diverse members, we somehow feel a need to continually remind them of that. Is that a good choice to be made in today's climate? Is that the hill we're going to die on?

Yep. You betcha. I am firmly on that hill, no matter the consequences. Changing my organization's ritual would cause me to resign. Ritual is precious to me. We were founded when women were barely allowed to attend college. I refuse to be ashamed that they were all white. It has nothing whatsoever to do with racism.

[lake]

Do you suppose the women of Gamma Gamma Chi, the sorority of Muslim women, are anxious about changing their rituals to be more inclusive and attract a more diverse membership?

[honeychile]

Originally Posted by thetalady

Yep. You betcha. I am firmly on that hill, no matter the consequences. Changing my organization's ritual would cause me to resign. Ritual is precious to me. We were founded when women were barely allowed to attend college. I refuse to be ashamed that they were all white. It has nothing whatsoever to do with racism.

Agreed.

This may be where fraternities and sororities differ the most. College and university education were always open to men who could meet the requirements. Women had to develop their own schools, and gradually be accepted into men's schools.

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Many of our groups incorporate Greek gods and goddesses - but how many of our members are practicing members of an ancient Greek religion? We understand their use metaphorically. Short of a ritual that requires a member to be a Christian, I'd argue that those who aren't might be able to regard inclusion of Christian symbolism, etc. in the same vein. YMMV, and I don't know others ritual, obviously, but just the mere inclusion of Christian symbols and readings shouldn't mean that the whole of it requires our members of any creed to have to BE Christian to understand their meaning within the ritual.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by carnation

I don't think there's anything particularly white about our rituals but yes, many are highly Christian. I have actually seen the rituals of many GLOs because some friends are ritual collectors. Our ritual is not demeaning in any way; it's very...cherishing. I never saw a sorority ritual that wasn't.

But as I've said here before, I wouldn't have pledged AEPhi and demanded soon afterwards that they remove all the Stars of David or sections from their ritual that made me feel uncomfortable. Same with a lot of honor societies I'm in. I remember how distinctly uncomfortable I was 5 minutes into the ceremony. However, I worked hard to get those letters and far be it from me to trash what some people wrote many years ago.

Change is not always necessary or best.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by lake

Do you suppose the women of Gamma Gamma Chi, the sorority of Muslim women, are anxious about changing their rituals to be more inclusive and attract a more diverse membership?

Agreed.

As I said above, my feeling is that women in general bring a slightly different past to the table than men. Our feelings are valid, and we do not like to be looked at condescendingly, especially when speaking of something so dear to our hearts.

[carnation]

I don't think there's anything particularly white about our rituals but yes, many are highly Christian. I have actually seen the rituals of many GLOs because some friends are ritual collectors. Our ritual is not demeaning in any way; it's very...cherishing. I never saw a sorority ritual that wasn't.

But as I've said here before, I wouldn't have pledged AEPhi and demanded soon afterwards that they remove all the Stars of David or sections from their ritual that made me feel uncomfortable. Same with a lot of honor societies I'm in. I remember how distinctly uncomfortable I was 5 minutes into the ceremony. However, I worked hard to get those letters and far be it from me to trash what some people wrote many years ago.

Change is not always necessary or best.