The faith journey of Laura Schlessinger — author and self-proclaimed talk-show "doctor," virulent anti-gay and anti-choice conservative, and her kid's mom — has taken a surprising turn. On Aug. 5, the nagging advice-giver announced that she is no longer practicing Judaism. Schlessinger, a longtime atheist born to a Jewish father and an Italian mother in 1947, made a public statement about her conversion to the Orthodox Jewish faith in the 1990s.
Her statement came on her nationally syndicated right-wing radio show: "I still see myself as a Jew," Schlessinger said. "But the spiritual journey and that direction, as hardcore as I was at it, just didn't fulfill something in me that I needed." It probably didn't help that many (though certainly not all) Jewish people didn't like Schlessinger's views, her rigid "morality," or her harsh, unforgiving tone — and told her so.
I pray this will be a healthy, positive move for her. Assessing one's spiritual path is a difficult, often painful process; I know, I've been there. If the non-doctor sees this as doing the right thing, more power to her. Let us hope she finds the road to self-enlightenment and spiritual fulfillment soon.
In the meantime, we're stuck with, in the words of Susan Weidman Schneider, executive editor of Jewish feminist quarterly Lilith Magazine, another "garden variety, anti-choice conservative.".
Oh, goody.
Article comments
1 - Leah
Dr. Laura sounds like a bitch from what I read on this page with all the anti and the words describing her, so I won't be listening to her