I think that the difference is in the eye of the beholder. Case in point: When the Conservative movement announced a few years ago that homosexuality is OK, an

I think that the difference is in the eye of the beholder. Case in point: When the Conservative movement announced a few years ago that homosexuality is OK, and that it's even fine to have same-sex weddings, they needed to confront the fact that Leviticus explicitly outlaws homosexual relations. The Conservative movement gave all sorts of explanations, and basically said they were bending the rules. Their rabbinical schools currently accept gay and lesbian students. The Orthodox (stricter) world largely said that they had broken the law beyond all recognition, and that this demonstrated that the Conservative movement doesn't take Jewish law seriously. Many rule-bending aspects of Jewish law, even when approved by top rabbis, have been called rule-breaking by opponents.