With all due respect to the politically correct members of this forum, I find it hard to believe that race is not considered an issue with Greek fraternities and sororities on practically all US campuses. Among other memberships I've held in life, I joined Tau Epsilon Rho while in law school, an historically Jewish law fraternity, whose members include many Gentiles like myself. I understand that Tau Epsilon Rho is currently returning to its religious roots. This comes from the official Tau Epsilon Rho web-site:
Beginning with the mid-1950’s, Tau Epsilon Rho Law Fraternity welcomed into its membership every member of the legal profession, regardless of their race, religion, or gender. In 1985, the organization formally changed its name to Tau Epsilon Rho Law Society to more accurately represent its diverse membership and to promote group solidarity. In recent years, TAU EPSILON RHO has made a conscious decision to reemphasize our Jewish roots, and to promote our particular moral and ethical standards as they relate to the legal profession and our personal lives. While TAU EPSILON RHO remains strongly committed to the principles of inclusion and equality, which were our founding ideals, we believe that these religious imperatives also enforce the proper, highest moral aspirations of attorneys and judges throughout the nation.
Under this philosophy, I would be less likely to join today. I respect the religious ideals of Judaism as much as my own, but I feel the religious and racial emphasis on being Jewish becomes slightly more exclusionary. The same holds true for any (hypothetical) Protestant, Buddhist, Hindu or Islamic fraternity or sorority.
I understand this thread involves ethnic Greek organizations, but I cannot help but think that religious affiliation bears a similar, perhaps overlapping, influence on membership issues. Under the theory of homophily, birds of a feather naturally flock together. Its not racist, just natural segregation. So long as people remain homophilous, separate ethnic and religious Greek organizations will likely endure, if permitted by law and social practice. Check out the following link for a brief discussion of homophily.
http://www.ciadvertising.org/SA/summ...;20Theory.html
I am not advocating one way or another with respect to ethnic or religious Greek structures. I am simply tossing a few thoughts into the forum,
Happy New Year!
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