George Pyle: When religion hurts, people leave

(Scott Sommerdorf | The Salt Lake Tribune) Eliza Long, of Provo, signs papers of resignation from the LDS church alongside her brother Lorenzo, at the 8th annual mass resignation in City Creek Park, Sunday, November 5, 2017.Yes, she said, you are supposed to wear the little cap. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t Jewish. And, yes, you should have some wine. It doesn’t matter that you are 14 years old. It’s a bar mitzvah. That’s what people do.

I’m sure that she, as one of the few Jews in that small city on the Plains, had to explain the rituals and beliefs to a lot of people. Bob’s bar mitzvah, the coming of age ceremony he had studied for, drew a congregation (is that the right word for the…