01 February 2006
Leaders of the Conservative Jewish movement in the United States support the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy by large majorities, according to a survey. Roughly two-thirds of Conservative rabbis and cantors said in the survey released by the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) should admit openly gay and lesbian students for rabbinical study. Percentages in favor were even higher among the movement’s professional and lay leadership.
Similar margins of support were found for the idea of Conservative rabbis officiating at same-sex commitment ceremonies. The survey found American rabbis far more supportive of gay ordination than their counterparts in Canada and Israel, where opposition stands at 82 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively. JTS chancellor-elect Arnold Eisen said the survey results were “one factor among many” that he would consider in deciding whether JTS will open its doors to gay and lesbian students. Eisen commissioned the survey, conducted by Hebrew Union College sociologist Steven Cohen, following a December 2006 decision by the movement’s highest rabbinical authority, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, to permit the ordination of gay clergy. Cohen’s data was drawn from 5,583 responses to an online poll, including 4,800 from lay leaders and clergy.
