Chapter 8 Race and Religion

The Woman Who Breaks the Stained Glass Ceiling There is one final trend among working women.Women may be accustomed to the fact that they dominate America's language-based professions, such as journalism, public relations and law.But when it comes to careers related to language and writing, women's excellence becomes more complicated. Over the past 20 years, the number of women in the clergy in the United States has more than tripled.More than 51 percent of women attend seminary.Over the past 10 years, the number of women majoring in religion or theology has more than doubled, while the number of men has increased by less than half.We see a new group of priests growing rapidly as more and more women join the ranks of the priesthood, prompted by a new set of criteria for personal choice of profession.On the one hand, they are receiving further education in the seminary, on the other hand, they are still looking for their own fixed places in the religious life of the United States.

Those women in the priesthood seem to be driven by a deep sense that the world is in need of repair.Female clergy tend to feel this more strongly than their male colleagues, and they are very active on political and secular issues.According to some surveys of women in the clergy, by far their biggest concern is social welfare, including the growing gap between rich and poor.This was followed by issues of tolerance and rights, which included issues of racism; followed by issues of public order and civility, and then gay rights.At the bottom of the list of issues they listed were defense and foreign policy issues; in particular, in contrast to the American male clergy, the last issues chosen by the female clergy were issues of "family values" or "the country's is deviating from God's spiritual and moral concern".

Perhaps unsurprisingly, based on the results of the survey, women in the clergy are often liberal, sometimes overwhelmingly, and generally support Democratic candidates for office .A generation ago, many women were teachers, social workers, and civic volunteers, but now they are aligning their responsibility for social justice with their personal convictions, rather than just being concerned with climbing the ladder of missionaries and pastors Up and up. The rise of women in the clergy heralds some changes in American religion.Both male and female clergy told the survey respondents that when female clergy preached, preached, and counseled, they became more and more concerned about the personal lives of those who participated in religious activities, and more and more Concerned with nurturing and personal experience, increasingly likely to spend more time on personal experience.There are also reports that these female clergy have no interest in party politics, the power to rule over others, or the prestige of their jobs.And they are said to be more popular with those who have been alienated by the church and are new to religious services.

But despite these contributions, and their growing numbers, women in the clergy still face some very serious challenges.The first is the challenge of personal stress, which is reported to be significantly greater for female clergy than for male clergy.In a study of 190 female United Methodist clergymen across the country, 60 percent said they did not sleep well, 56 percent said they were sad, and more than a third (35 %) said that "even with the help of family or friends", "their depression could not be relieved".Women in the clergy report that by far the biggest challenge is juggling work and family.Being a pastor all year round and taking care of children at home is quite heavy.Moreover, most of the wives of male clergy can play the role of communicating with believers and building relationships during the worship service, while female clergy have to bear the dual responsibilities of wives and clergy.Finally, dating can be a real challenge for single female clergy.Unmarried female clergy reported that they scared most men away, and that those who weren't - such as their peers - were too busy to be ideal mates. (Think of convincing your fellow church brother on a first date with a pastor.)

More generally, even those religious organizations that allow women into the clergy appear to be resisting their greater role.Among the female clergy, there is a widely observed phenomenon known as the stained glass ceiling, that is, although they are comparable in number to the male clergy, or even more than the male clergy, the completed There is no less homework than the male clergy, but their promotion in the church organization is much slower than that of the male clergy.To this day, there is hardly any religion known where female clergy alone preside over very large-scale worship activities.

Some say it's only a matter of time before the female clergy breaks down this stained-glass ceiling.They have made real gains in other industries—particularly those based on language and writing—and it will probably take longer in this area, in part because the First Amendment prevents reaction. Discrimination Law Process. (This is why the male priests, with impure motives, can prevent female priests from entering their profession, saying: "Consider what happened when Adam obeyed his wife's leadership and ate the forbidden fruit? ") But a closer look at the struggles of women in the clergy reveals that the above may not be good news.

Over the past 50 years, nearly every major religious order that allowed women into the clergy has seen a significant decline in its membership, while every major religious order that does not allow women has seen a significant increase in its membership.As the table below shows, most mainline Protestant denominations that allow women in the clergy have seen declines in membership, while most other denominations that do not allow women in the clergy have seen increases. The American Catholic Church, too numerous to show on this graph, excludes women clergy, and has grown from 4.2 million to 6.7 million members over the past 50 years.The number of Muslims in the United States is too small to show on this map, and it also excludes female clergy, but according to the results of the survey on the number of believers of various religions in the United States, Muslims have increased from 527,000 in 1990 to 2001 1.1 million for the year. (Now, there are probably more of them.) Of course immigration also played a role, but it was a matter of religious form that played a bigger role.

Some will find it interesting to say that the presence of women in certain denominations is the reason many people drop out of those denominations.St. Paul said: "I will not allow a woman to instruct a man, nor have a woman have authority over a man"—but if you can only prove by experience that women priests should not be in charge , your denomination will grow, so who needs St. Paul's words? But it is more likely that the acceptance of women in the clergy was part of a larger liberal trend that itself was frowned upon among religious believers.As they did in the feminist movement, female clergy represented a growing civil society trend toward religious integration.But increasingly, it's not progressive propositions that people are looking for on Sunday mornings.Among regular churchgoers, a whopping 77 percent say they like going to church because of the heart, while only 23 percent say they like going to church because of the head.People point out that for those who have the same political views, like-minded people, and people who share ethical standards, they can go to organizations like the Sierra Club.If they go to church, they need inspiration, fear and faith.Plus, the female clergy are trying to discover a religion that will give them not just hearts, but something else that is entirely new to the old-timers.

Of course, having a large number of believers in a certain religion does not mean that this religion has mastered the truth.All the larger religions of the world started out small.Therefore, the decrease in the number of believers of a religion may indicate that people are asking for more things, but there are also many people who believe that one cannot ask for everything from God, nor can it be said that believers want more and more things.Now, the cold statistics show that this new class of female clergy has a long way to go, as stricter religions grow and more liberal ones shrink.But this situation has been repeated many times before. In so many world conflicts today, the role of religion may lead to resistance to religious extremes. Therefore, the woman who broke the stained glass ceiling may be the harbinger of a new movement. , this movement will become the mainstream of modern religion.Consensus and compassion may not align now, but they will certainly align in the future.America should perhaps be getting ready for the first woman president in the White House, just as we should be getting ready for the first woman Billy Graham - the first to capture the national imagination through the power of television and even the internet female priest.

people who like to look for jews In one of the funniest scenes in Woody Allen's hugely successful 1977 film Annie Hall, Alvi Singer (Alvy Singer) went to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, to meet the parents of his non-Jewish girlfriend's house.Although Anne and her family were polite to him and never mentioned their religious differences, Allen's film tells us how Alvi imagined what Anne's grandmother would think of him: long A beard, a yarmulke, a paisha (the traditional rolled-up robe worn by Jewish men), and everything else—an old-fashioned Jewish look. Today, this movie scene may reappear, but in a different way.Today, Alvie wears a yarmulke and paisa, purely for fun, while Anne's parents might sit silently by, hoping that Alvy and Anne will tie the knot.

Because today in the United States, falling in love with Jews has become a fashion.No matter where they are, Jews are in high demand.What used to cause resentment and envy against the Jews now seems to be an object of envy and pursuit.In the past, Jews were often reluctant to talk about their religion when they approached a man or woman of a different faith.But now there is growing evidence that the opposite trend is emerging: non-Jewish people seek out Jews. Jewish women, who have always been rigid about ordering meals, are now the hot pursuit of men and valued by the younger generation.It may be true that few Jewish women can cook, as Jewish women have been at the forefront of the occupational revolution over the past few decades, with college students, graduate students, and highly educated jobs among them The number of people has reached a proportion that cannot be compared with other groups. (Sixty-eight percent of Jewish women ages 25 to 44 have a college degree, by far the highest rate of any religious group in the United States.) In today's education-based service economy, lifestyles that were once considered subversive are now all too common.So Jews (both male and female) are the first choice for those looking for a successful, well-educated spouse. This has not been the case in the past, and there have been anti-Jewish movements in the United States. In 1939, a Roper survey found that only 39% of Americans felt that Jews should be treated like other people; 53% of Americans believed that "Jews are different from other people, so should be restricted”; 10 percent actually believed that Jews should be deported.In the 1940s, several national surveys found that Judaism was considered a greater threat to American welfare than any other national, religious, or radical organization. Let's compare this result to a survey conducted by Gallup in August 2006.When asked what they think of people of different religions or beliefs in the United States, Jews scored the highest of all U.S. population groups, with 54 percent having an entirely positive attitude toward them.In the opinion of people everywhere in the United States, there is no group of people - Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Evangelical Christians, Fundamental Christians ( Fundamentalist Christians, Mormons, Muslims, Atheists, or Scientologists—scored higher than Jews. This "friendly attitude towards the Jews" has become a very obvious personal preference for some people.According to a survey by J-Date, the world's most popular Jewish online dating site, in early 2007 nearly 11 percent of its members were non-Jewish.That means there are about 67,000 non-Jews in the world and nearly 40,000 in the United States who pay monthly for the right to find and marry Jewish dates online.In our own September 2006 survey, 4 out of 10 non-Jews said they were "very" or "somewhat" interested in dating or marrying a Jew . The people who were most interested in Jews were the milder, lower-status, Catholic men. (They're a little worse off than those who pursued Annie Hall and slightly better than those who pursued Joey Tribiani from Friends.) It is this identity with the Jewish people that makes them prefer to be close to the Jewish people, because in general, people of both religions emphasize extended family values ​​to some extent, and both have obvious preferences for certain foods--both Love to eat matzo with meatballs.Both groups have historically felt excluded, both have been discriminated against, and both have benefited greatly from society later on.At one time, it seemed inconceivable that there would be a Catholic president in the United States.Still, research firms like Gallup have also asked the question: Is it possible to have a Jewish president in the United States? In 2006, there were 11 Jewish senators in the U.S. Senate -- including one from Oregon, a state where Jews make up less than 1 percent of the state's population. Another big factor in people's liking for Jews in America is the strong support for Israel in unexpected places.In America today, there are more Protestants than Jews who support Israel.Senator Bob Bennett, who has just 0.2 percent of Jewish voters in Utah, was the main speaker at a recent pro-Semitic rally.President George W. Bush—whose family was greatly distrusted by the Jewish people—has had high approval ratings in only one country in the world, and that country is Israel. In our survey on Jewish liking, the number one reason they gave for wanting a Jewish spouse was a strong sense of worth, with nearly a third admitting they were motivated by money, looks, or being Jewish" better for their spouses” feeling. In 2004, I worked with Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, a traditional Jew who was running for president.Although he didn't win his party's nomination, he emphasized establishing a value across the country that raised awareness of Jewish life among Americans.During his campaign, more Jews than non-Jews told him that a Jew should not run.But his strong sense of principle helped a lot in 2006, when Republicans and Independents — once unlikely Became a supporter of the candidate who was Jewish - offered him help. Popular culture also seems to have picked up on Americans' affinity for Jews.As Madonna becomes obsessed with Kabbalah—a spiritual movement born out of Jewish mysticism—a whole new aspect of America begins to introduce Jewish life.It's a life not of the sitcom "Sennfeld" - in which Jewish culture is erratic - but of a religion that is unique and markedly different from other cultures culture.Admittedly, there are those who think Madonna has taken this culture too far: on her 2004 rediscovery tour, she refused to drink anything but Cabala water, and because of her respect for the Jewish Sabbath, She also won't be performing on Friday nights. Once non-Jews start to lose enthusiasm for Judaism, the Jews themselves begin to lose enthusiasm for it.In 2005, Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu (his name is Yiddish for "gift from God") wore a yarmulke, paisa, and Despite the sharp criticism of the upward force that God gave us, his second CD still ranked second on the charts when it was released.The reason for this is not that a Jew is singing a rock song, and he can sing it well; it's because many people like Robert • ;Dylan (Bob Dylan) - this Jew put on jeans and T-shirts, sang American songs, became the rock generation.As it stands now, Mattis Yahu looks like a Jew from a small 13th-century Polish Jewish village, singing in Yiddish and Hebrew, attracting more and more people from Oklahoma Oklahoma fans. As Jewish preferences spread, so did Jewish habits, even where non-Jews lived.Non-Jewish people began to practice Jewish commandments, and when children reached the age of 13, Jewish "mitzvah" ceremonies were held.There is also a blog dedicated to how to use a Jewish wedding marquee and dos and don'ts at a non-Jewish wedding.Unleavened dough is "bread without distress," which is said to be eaten by Jews during Passover to commemorate their ancestors' escape to Egypt, and is now enjoyed by some non-Jewish people year-round. All this, perhaps, accompanied by rye bread and hot dogs, with the full belief that they would be of better quality if made in Jewish-owned grocery stores.My father worked in a Jewish grocery store in the 1950s, and the owner of the grocery store was facing a shrinking market because even Jews didn't buy Jewish-made food.Today, thanks to the right marketing, he is popular with more and more Jews as well as non-Jews.Judging by this trend, if anything is going to happen in the future, it is that Jews are occupying more and more markets today. According to Jewish tradition, if a non-Jew wants to convert to Judaism, he must learn Jewish culture and habits, and it is possible only after three interviews.Perhaps in this day and age, they would not have gone through this kind of questioning. Now, non-Jews are attracted to Judaism by chance, and they are eager to be attracted to Judaism.Meanwhile, kosher singles (like the kosher-flavored hot dogs that are popular across the country) are a popular crowd: their “phone calls” are high.