The Current State of LGBTQ in Judaism
As a member of both the LGBTQ community and the Orthodox Jewish community, the intersection between them is important to me. Different denominations of Judaism (Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform, as four major branches) tend to have different opinions on LGBTQ within Judaism.
In certain crucial ways the Torah might be read as anti-LGBTQ, because it contains commandments against homosexual activity. For example, Leviticus 20:13 states that if “a man who lies with a male as one would with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon themselves.” Because Orthodox Judaism generally takes the Torah strictly and literally, ultra-Orthodox sects are likely to be the least supportive of the LGBTQ community. In particular, a 2013 Pew Research Center survey of American Jewish people found that 70% of ultra-Orthodox Jewish people thought homosexuality should be discouraged by society (compared to 8% of non-Orthodox Jewish people). In fact, Yeshiva University, an Orthodox Jewish university, recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to block a student-formed LGBTQ club on constitutional grounds of religious freedom.
The Modern Orthodox community, as its name suggests, is more modern and accepting. The 2013 Pew study found that 38% of Modern Orthodox Jewish people, a lower percentage than the ultra-Orthodox, believed homosexuality should be discouraged. The community has progressed further toward acceptance of LGBTQ people in more recent years. In particular, in 2020, Rabbi Benny Lau, a prominent Israeli Orthodox rabbi, issued a detailed statement urging the full integration of LGBTQ people into the Orthodox community, emphasizing the Jewish value of dignity. Moreover, a growing number of modern Orthodox clergy have recently been performing same-sex marriage ceremonies. Modern Orthodox Judaism has made strides to include LGBTQ people even if many of its leaders and members think that homosexual activity runs counter to halakhic Judaism.
Conservative Judaism has also made strides in LGBTQ acceptance, earlier and further than Modern Orthodox Judaism. In 2006, the leaders of this Jewish movement voted to allow LGBTQ people to become rabbis. In 2012, Conservative Jewish leaders approved of same-sex marriage and set out rituals for such marriages.
The Reform Judaism community has long been the most accepting of the Jewish LGBTQ community. Since 1965, it has been trying to integrate the LGBTQ community into its own, urging broad and equal acceptance. Reform Judaism rejects the primacy of the biblical statements prohibiting homosexual activity cited by Orthodox Judaism, instead emphasizing Genesis 1:27, that “God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, has explained that “As it says in Genesis, all humans were created in the image of God. And that means that every person, every soul, is a creature of God that looks like God, whether they are transgender or lesbian or gay, and so we welcome all of them.”
As society continues to progress, so do the views of different branches of Judaism. While certain ones are more progressive than others, it is heartening that progress is being made in most sectors of Judaism. Hopefully, all Jewish people will soon be able to feel comfortable in their sexuality and gender as a Jew in a Jewish community.
