I have been thinking a lot about religious imagery lately. I have been fascinated by it my whole life. Growing up Catholic, the one thing you must give the religion is that they love their icons, costumes and pageantry. It is the one thing that I always felt connected to and I still do to this day. My cultural heritage will always be Irish Catholic and the Catholic Church will always be a part of my life and who I am.
My spiritual journey has created a separate religious identity. About 8 years ago, I began the conversion process to Judaism. It was not planned and in my journey of faith, I learned everything I could and attended services of most major religions. I’ve been to Muslim services, Bhai ceremonies, Hindu, Mormon, the list goes on. In everyone, I was fascinated by their imagery or the lack there of.
I think I finally fully embraced my new Jewish identity when after the San Bernardino shooting, I start wearing my Kippah to work. The Kippah I wear, I bought for a close friend in the Jewish Quarter of Prague. This is when I first felt my connection to the Judaism. To me, it was a simple statement of faith. However, I quickly realized it was not.
Here’s what’s I find interesting. I, a white male, have chosen to keep my head covered as a sign of faith. All I get congratulations and open questions. I am doing nothing different than many Islamic women who chose to wear a Hijab or Burka. It’s the same as a Sikh man choosing to wear a turban. I am making a choice, of my own free will, to publicly display my faith. I remember seeing Sisters making the same choice, donning the habit and it was powerful.
When wondering why it’s more acceptable for me, most people response is that the Jewish Community is far less controversial than the Islamic. I just don’t think this is a reality, for many different reasons.
I stopped wearing it for no particular reason; I just naturally stopped. However, I’m going through some challenges now and have decided to wear it. I had a great conversation about it on the bus yesterday. A woman was truly interested and I was happy to talk about.
I don’t know when or if I’ll stop wearing it again. Sometimes I just wear a hat because it’s simpler. I’m a gay ginger, so covering my hair at a time when being a ginger is a bonus is not a simple decision but also an easy one.
I just think that instead of being scarred by other’s religions imagery, be curious.
