{"id":690,"date":"2010-10-09T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-09T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/10\/on-hiding-my-point-of-view-a-question-for-my-readers.html"},"modified":"2010-10-09T15:05:00","modified_gmt":"2010-10-09T15:05:00","slug":"on-hiding-my-point-of-view-a-question-for-my-readers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/10\/on-hiding-my-point-of-view-a-question-for-my-readers.html","title":{"rendered":"On Hiding My Point Of View: A Question For My Readers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
Yesterday, over a chocolate break with co-worker friends, I talked a little about my blog.\u00a0 The co-workers I was talking to know my beliefs even if the members at the JCC usually do not.\u00a0 A few of them vociferously agree with me.\u00a0 They are all very dear people for whom I care a great deal. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
At one point in the conversation, a couple of them remarked that I should be careful.\u00a0 I could suffer problems at work from expressing my point of view.\u00a0 They were honestly concerned for me.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I was taken aback.\u00a0 My job at the JCC is in senior administration.\u00a0 I coordinate grants with organizations like the United Way.\u00a0 I do internal communications and publicity.\u00a0 I supervise some staff and facilities.\u00a0 I coordinate the calendar.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Though I was originally brought on as Jewish educator, the Jewish education that I have provided has always been secular in nature.\u00a0 That is appropriate at a JCC where the Jewish voice is split into a broad chorus of opinions, ranging from me on one side to a small handful of Orthodox on the other.\u00a0 How could I possibly teach a version of Judaism that everyone would agree with?\u00a0 Why would I event want to try?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
I have no desire to use my JCC job as a platform for my beliefs.\u00a0 I have other outlets for that such as this blog, the Association of Humanistic Rabbis, the Society for Humanistic Judaism and Congregation Beth Adam.\u00a0 However, if asked, I will proudly say that I am a secular humanistic rabbi and explain what that means.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
So I pointed out to my co-workers that my position is a legitimate one in Jewish life.\u00a0 That the Society for Humanistic Judaism is a movement like any other in our community.\u00a0 I talked about how our rabbis sit on the boards of rabbis around the country.\u00a0 They had expressed the concern, but now I was trying to calm myself down.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
What is it about non-theistic Judaism that would elicit a reaction like this?\u00a0 Polls show that many American Jews already hold non-theistic views.\u00a0 In my last post, I pointed out that many other liberal rabbis do, too. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Even for Jews who proclaim their theism, it\u2019s hard to know what they mean by it.\u00a0 Is it the God of Orthodox Judaism or a Mordecai Kaplan-esque metaphor for a non-supernatural process?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
So I\u2019m asking you, my readers, what you think.\u00a0 A large percentage of American rabbis do not work in congregations.\u00a0 Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, Renewal, Haredi and Modern Orthodox rabbis are found in every Jewish agency you can imagine.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
They do not hide their affiliations.\u00a0 Must I?<\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, over a chocolate break with co-worker friends, I talked a little about my blog.\u00a0 The co-workers I was talking to know my beliefs even if the members at the JCC usually do not.\u00a0 A few of them vociferously agree with me.\u00a0 They are all very dear people for whom I care a great deal. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6,30,39],"class_list":["post-690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogentries","tag-atheism","tag-non-theism","tag-secular-humanistic-judaism"],"yoast_head":"\nOn Hiding My Point Of View: A Question For My Readers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yesterday, over a chocolate break with co-worker friends, I talked a little about my blog.\u00a0 The co-workers I was talking to know my beliefs even if the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/10\/on-hiding-my-point-of-view-a-question-for-my-readers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On Hiding My Point Of View: A Question For My Readers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yesterday, over a chocolate break with co-worker friends, I talked a little about my blog.\u00a0 The co-workers I was talking to know my beliefs even if the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theatheistrabbi\/2010\/10\/on-hiding-my-point-of-view-a-question-for-my-readers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Atheist Rabbi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-10-09T15:05:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey L. 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