Dating website eyes formerly religious

A new dating website targeting the formerly religious and "religious-light" sectors has recently been launched.

Micha (alias) has recognized the special niche these two groups occupy within the national-religious public and has created the "Laytim" website to cater for their dating needs. "The formerly religious won't eat shrimp in a restaurant and the religious-light choose not to take off their yarmulkes," he says.

"Despite their link to the secular world, they would prefer meeting people from a similar background."

The currently available religious dating websites are not sufficient, Micha declares. "In many cases these are institutional websites under rabbinical auspices, which coat dating with religious messages such as 'It is not good for the man to be alone' and other slogans," he explains.

"We have no intention of speaking the religious language which views single people as pathetic. Most of the dating websites do not offer the possibility of describing oneself as formerly religious or religious-light and this prevents such people from meeting suitable partners."

Test yourself questioner

Unlike other dating websites, Laytim does not offer a questionnaire testing one's level of religiousness. "I didn't want to decide for the user who is religious-light and who is formerly religious," Micha says. "Let each person decide for themselves what these terms mean."

The site does, however offer an unofficial "test yourself" questioner for the undecided, where surfers are asked to mark whether they wear a small yarmulke, or no yarmulke at all and whether they would drink coffee at a café which is open on Shabbat.

"Most people were excited about the website but many claimed they had a hard time defining themselves religiously," Micha says. "I believe that the site will also cater to those who define themselves as national-religious and want to have more dating options."

Hundreds of users have already registered with the site, which aims not only to address dating issues but also day-to-day aspects relevant to the formerly religious and religious-light sectors.

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