In this keynote from the 2021 IARF EME conference “Does Religion Set You Free?”, Rabbi Mark Solomon asks when religion becomes a source of liberation and when it becomes a prison. He begins with his own journey from an Orthodox Jewish upbringing and rabbinate through the conflict between traditional religious teaching and his identity as a gay man. A decisive influence was Rabbi Lionel Blue, whose teacher Leo Baeck had said that Judaism should be one’s religious home, not one’s religious prison.
Solomon develops this theme through Jewish teachings on Exodus, the Ten Commandments and Jubilee, arguing that freedom is not simply freedom from restraint but the voluntary acceptance of principles that protect the freedom and dignity of others. He then turns to psychology of religion - especially extrinsic, intrinsic and “quest” orientations - to examine links between religiosity and prejudice. Feminist theology, Alice Walker, Judith Plaskow, Spinoza, mysticism and interfaith encounter all become part of his account of a faith capable of self-criticism, doubt, change and liberation. The discussion ranges over women rabbis, LGBTQ inclusion, religious law, reason, pantheism, idolatry and the relationship between tradition and personal conscience.
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