Talk:Hartford Street Zen Center

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Religious org?[edit]

Just curious... In this edit: [1] the words "for gays and lesbians" were removed, but the category "LGBT religious organizations" was added. Which is it? And it's not really a "religious organization", is it? I mean, it's not a denomination, it's more like a Category:LGBT community centres, right? -- SatyrTN (talk / contribs) 16:55, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It's definitely LGBT-focused although not solely and per Buddhism can "justifiably be viewed as philosophy, psychology or religion", "community center" is a stretch as it's more a place to do inner worship. I would clump under LGBT spirituality. Benji boi 18:57, 19 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Reading through the article, I'm not sure, but I've moved it to Category:LGBT issues and religion. It doesn't seem to be an LGBT religious organization. I mean - it seems LGBT related, it seems religiously related, and a stretch might call it an organization, but I don't think it compares to MCC and Dignity, does it? I'm struggling to understand here... :) -- SatyrTN (talk / contribs) 01:59, 20 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Article needs to be expanded. Looking at homepage, which also states they are the first Buddhist blog, emphasis isn't on community building events in the traditional church (like MCC) way. They seem to have come of age during the AIDS crisis. Here's a good article. In the LGBT community they would be listed under religion/spirituality, this might also be a case for revisiting the categories as this is an LGBT Zen center, perhas not exclusively so but is certainly part of their history and frankly it speaks mainly to that the article needs to be expanded. They have books reffing them so there are sources. 54 hits on google book. Benji boi 09:29, 20 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It is a Soto Zen practice center (Zen Buddhism), so yes—it fits best in religious organization. From what I understand, the center is comprised of mostly gay men—although they say they are "welcome to all." This is why I removed the explicit "gay and lesbian" reference, as they proclaim to be more inclusive than that. It cannot be denied, however, that the majority (if not all) who practice there are gays. I'm glad the article is gaining interest. I stumbled into the story of this place while working on a current article on the San Francisco Zen Center in one of my sandboxes, and thought it was an important story to tell. I hope it expands! It was the first Zen hospirce to address the AIDS epidemic, and in the Castro district of all places. Definitely should be in Category:LGBT issues and religion, imo. (Mind meal (talk) 10:52, 20 February 2008 (UTC))[reply]