A Tale of Two Women

My daughter Elizabeth and her partner Erica were told earlier this winter that they would need to move out of their apartment.  Their landlords are older folks and have been having some health issues, and so their son is going to move in so that he can watch out for their welfare.  A noble thing to do.

So they've been apartment hunting.  They'd like a three bedroom apartment, but their two daughters could share a room if it came to that.  They've got several real estate agents working on it.  They've announced it at church, they've posted it on their extensive Facebook networks.  They are both employed.,  They have great references.  Their credit checks out.  But despite seeing several places, they've yet to land a new home.

Liz and Erica live in Massachusetts, in one of the most diverse and liberal cities in the country.  Yet what they are encountering a bias.  They suspected it all along, but it was confirmed by their most recent experience.  A potential landlord told their real estate agent flat out:  we won't rent to them because they are, well, you know, two women.  It goes against our religious beliefs.  (I can't help but wonder what they'd say if they knew Liz and Erica's daughters were African-American!)

Liz is a very religious young woman.  Very active in her congregation.  So is Erica. My point is, she appreciates the value of faith and the institutions that support it.  "You know, Dad," she told me the other night, "I'm not going to leave the church or anything, but I do understand better why so many of my friends are opposed to organized religion."

So do I. 

And frankly, it has me worried about the future of religious institutions in general, and the church in particular.  We who are part of an older generation often wonder why young people seem so estranged from the church.  I suspect some it has to do with apartment hunting--so to speak.