"Modesty" in religion

This is in response to this post in faith_feminists, which was commenting on an article about religious modesty written in what I call nouveau doormat mode. Because it's a highly controversial topic, I've decided to put the bulk of my response here.

I'm trying to think of how to say this without offending anyone, and I'm doing my best but it's not easy. Please don't take offence: I'm complaining about problems within an institution, in this case Orthodox Judaism, and this is not an attack on anyone. As agreed in the post mentioned above, women have the right to dress and behave in any way they want. What I object to is when certain modes of dress and behaviour are forced on them. This is my view based on what I have seen of UK Judaism.

I believe that sexuality is something wonderful and can also be connected with the spiritual, but for a religious service it should be left outside the door. This does not mean trying to stamp it out, but rather ignoring it, just as it is inappropriate to focus on financial matters in a religious service. When I go to synagogue, I dress in my usual style, except a little more smartly, and I wear a suit for more formal occasions. If it is a particularly solemn occasion, say the High Holydays, I dress more sombrely. For instance, on the Day of Atonement I dress in plain colours, trying to include some white as is traditional, and do not wear jewellery or make-up. Necklines and hemlines are neither here nor there.

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"Modesty" in religion

This is in response to this post in faith_feminists, which was commenting on an article about religious modesty written in what I call nouveau doormat mode. Because it's a highly controversial topic, I've decided to put the bulk of my response here.

I'm trying to think of how to say this without offending anyone, and I'm doing my best but it's not easy. Please don't take offence: I'm complaining about problems within an institution, in this case Orthodox Judaism, and this is not an attack on anyone. As agreed in the post mentioned above, women have the right to dress and behave in any way they want. What I object to is when certain modes of dress and behaviour are forced on them. This is my view based on what I have seen of UK Judaism.

I believe that sexuality is something wonderful and can also be connected with the spiritual, but for a religious service it should be left outside the door. This does not mean trying to stamp it out, but rather ignoring it, just as it is inappropriate to focus on financial matters in a religious service. When I go to synagogue, I dress in my usual style, except a little more smartly, and I wear a suit for more formal occasions. If it is a particularly solemn occasion, say the High Holydays, I dress more sombrely. For instance, on the Day of Atonement I dress in plain colours, trying to include some white as is traditional, and do not wear jewellery or make-up. Necklines and hemlines are neither here nor there.

( Read more... )