Entries by Chatzkaleh Kofer
Losing my religion over the growing invisibility of women
From http://plus61j.net.au/plus61j-voices/losing-religion-growing-invisibility-women: By: Sharon Berger (March 16, 2018) I HAD MY GREATEST revelation about Judaism while studying Arabic in Cairo. I was in the middle of my master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies at St Antony’s College, Oxford. Part of the course requirement was spending the summer learning a language. So a few classmates and I […]
Freethought Radio Interview with Tova Mirvis
Freethought Radio: Book of Separation Is Vice President Mike Pence delusional when he thinks Jesus is talking to him? Is a Georgia senator’s proposed law (in response to FFRF victories) to allow public school teachers to pray with students constitutional?
The Story of Ari Hershkowitz (One Of Us)
Secular Jihadists for a Muslim Enlightenment: EP39: Escape from Hasidic Judaism Ari Hershkowitz grew up in an insular Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, and was featured in the award-winning Netflix documentary “One of Us.” He spoke to us about the toxicity of religious indoctrination, the horrific abuse he suffered as a child, his descent into […]
The Health Effects of Leaving Religion
“a person’s faith, or lack thereof, is often so important that it affects physical, as well as spiritual, well-being.” The Health Effects of Leaving Religion How a loss of faith can manifest itself in the mind and body Ray has been a psychologist for more than 30 years and founded Recovering From Religion, an organization […]
How I Left My Hasidic Jewish Community & Found My Sexuality
By Etty Ausch, starring in the Netflix Documentary One Of Us: How I Left My Hasidic Jewish Community & Found My Sexuality Before my engagement, I never heard of the word “sex.” Just before I was married off, I attended bridal classes where I learned the basic mechanics of sex. I felt confused and terrified, […]
Second Generation Israeli OTDs
THIS NORMAL LIFE: ‘Datlash’ 2.0 – the elephant in the room What’s fueling the growing phenomenon in Israel of datlashim – the Hebrew acronym for formerly religious Jews? And how big is it in real numbers? Based on surveys conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Chotam religious lobbying organization found that, among the […]
Some Advice About Coming Out
Some simple advice on Reddit on Coming Out can be found here. One of the things it offers is a neat overview of when you should come out to your family and friends.
Sh*t People Say to OTD People
Excellent article from imamother.com: Top Ten Things Not to Say to a Kofer | Imamother People going through religious struggles or an off-the-derech journey are often confronted by well-meaning individuals who make useless and even offensive comments. I did a little survey of my OTD friends and here are the worst offenders, in no particular […]