Susan Katz Miller's Blog, page 2

Kamala Harris Brings Interfaith Families to the Stage

As an interfaith kid, and an interfaith activist, I was thrilled to see my friend and colleague Tahil Sharma take the stage to give a benediction at the end of night three of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Tahil is a Hindu and Sikh “interfaith kid” who uses the handle @InterfaithMan. We have been working together on interfaith programming for many years. So in that moment when he appeared on stage, I felt included, represented, and yes, I felt hope.

Democratic presidential nomi...

Accepting Rabbinical Students with Interfaith Partners. Why It’s Not Enough.

As a lifelong Reform Jew, with eminent Reform rabbis in my family tree, of course I was glad today to see the Reform rabbinical school announce that they will finally begin accepting students who are in interfaith partnerships. As someone born into an interfaith family, I have been waiting for this news all of my life. As an interfaith families activist, I have been advocating for this change for decades. And I celebrate for friends who have been waiting to become Reform rabbis.

But.

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Being Both, Still Going Strong

From time to time, I take a look at how “being both” interfaith families are being viewed by Jewish institutions. My point is that multiple religious practice is a statistically significant phenomenon in interfaith families that cannot be ignored or marginalized. And the statistics make the point for me, year after year.

Every year, a few new Jewish community studies come out, with demographics on Jewish families from particular cities or geographic regions. Most of the studies are done b...

Interfaith Family Journal, 5th Anniversary

This week, I am celebrating the 5th anniversary of the publication of The Interfaith Family Journal. I am so proud of this little workbook. There is no other book anything like it. It provides support to couples and families of any or every religion, or none. I created the journal as a resource for therapists, clergy, and interfaith families. It encourages you to engage with family history, practices, and beliefs, from birth to death. And it seems to be appreciated by everyone who uses the w...

Being Both: 2023 Highlights

In 2023, after years of pandemic torpor, I somehow emerged into renewed energy and inspiration. So, drumroll, here are the top five Being Both 2023 highlights:

The Audiobook. This was the year I finally achieved the dream of publishing an audiobook for Being Both, just in time to celebrate the book’s 10th anniversary. Because accessibility is a social justice issue. Right away, the audiobook hit #1 in two different Amazon “Hot New Release” categories. Buy it now, on CD or download, ...

Audiobook Publication Day!

I began today walking my dog across a field of fallen leaves rimed with sparkling frost. My camera could not seem to catch the multicolored light, even when I crouched down on the ground, at which point my giant rescue mutt thought this was a marvelous game and tackled me. So I put away my phone, and tried to just breathe in the crisp, clean air of winter’s arrival. I am a child of New England, and so I love winter with the passion of someone exiled to live in the south, and with the anticip...

Got More Than One Religion? What Do We Call That?

The first three episodes in my new educational video series “Got More Than One Religion?” each run less than two minutes by design, in order to stay short and snappy. But brevity is often at odds with complexity. So I wanted to expand on some of the terms listed in episode one, “Got More Than One Religion? What Do We Call That?”

Note that people don’t tend to use academic terms to describe their own identities. Most people who practice more than one religion will give very specific an...

8 Ways to a Peaceful December in Interfaith Families

My little sister and I, in our interfaith family in 1964.

We have reached December, the last month of the fourth year of the pandemic, in the midst of an excruciating war in Israel and Gaza . And whether you feel like you are in the mood for dancing or not, December means that many interfaith families are about to join in the dance of Hanukkah and Christmas. This year, Hanukkah begins and ends before Christmas, with a comfortable cushion of space between them. But no matter how the dates fal...

Reflection: A Decade of Being Both

Ten years ago today, Beacon Press published Being Both: Embracing Two Religions in One Interfaith Family. I have devoted the past decade to helping families to bridge religious boundaries, promote interfaith education for all, and advocate for social justice. My work has been lifting up the voices of those in interfaith families, in order to help the world to understand that we are, by our presence, reducing religious intolerance and creating a more peaceful world.

To celebrate this 10th ...

A New Year, a New Website

During these pandemic years, I did not feel very productive. Some people wrote novels, baked bread, started new careers. I did a lot of jigsaw puzzles, and a lot of worrying.

But then this fall, I felt a surge of wild back-to-school energy. And so now I have a slew of new projects, including the Kickstarter campaign to fund the Being Both audiobook. And in a matter of days, we’ve almost reached that funding goal.

And just today, in celebration of the Jewish New Year, I rolled out a n...