If something once thought to be as immutable as gender and sexuality can be increasingly seen as an ever-changing continuum, so too can religion. Even the notion that one is exclusively part of the Jewish people as an ethnic group no longer works for everyone, especially in the American Diaspora.
As a matter of both justice and effectiveness, American Jewish institutions should do even more to reach and care for those who do not have two Jewish parents, are not Ashkenazi, are not straight, and are not partnered. We should even look beyond people who identify themselves as Jews for life.
Much as we should continue honoring membership in a people, we should also acknowledge the ways that people can be Jewish, do Jewish, and experience Jewish in more ephemeral ways.
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