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{{Judaism|1=movements}}
'''Reform Judaism''', also known as '''Liberal Judaism''' or '''Progressive Judaism''', is a major [[Jewish religious movements|Jewish denomination]] that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its [[Jewish ethics|ethical aspects]] to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous [[revelation]] which is closely intertwined with human reason and not limited to the [[Theophany
The origins of Reform Judaism lie in [[German Confederation|mid-19th-century Germany]], where Rabbi [[Abraham Geiger]] and his associates formulated its early principles, attempting to harmonize Jewish tradition with modern sensibilities in the age of [[Jewish emancipation|emancipation]]. Brought to America by German-trained rabbis, the denomination gained prominence in [[History of the Jews in the United States|the United States]], flourishing from the 1860s to the 1930s in an era known as "Classical Reform". Since the 1970s, the movement has adopted a policy of inclusiveness and acceptance, inviting as many as possible to partake in its communities rather than adhering to strict theoretical clarity. It is strongly identified with progressive and liberal agendas in political and social terms, mainly under the traditional Jewish rubric ''[[tikkun olam]]'' ("repairing of the world"). ''Tikkun olam'' is a central motto of Reform Judaism, and acting in its name is one of the main channels for adherents to express their affiliation. The movement's most significant center today is in [[North America]].
Various regional branches exist, including the [[Union for Reform Judaism]] (URJ) in the United States and Canada, the [[Movement for Reform Judaism]] (MRJ) and [[Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom)|Liberal Judaism]] in the United Kingdom, the [[Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism]] (IMPJ) in Israel, and the UJR-AmLat in Latin America; these are united within the international [[World Union for Progressive Judaism]] (WUPJ). Founded in 1926, the WUPJ estimates it represents at least 1.8 million people in 50 countries, about 1 million of which are registered adult congregants, and the rest are unaffiliated but identify with the movement. This makes Reform the second-largest Jewish denomination worldwide, after [[Orthodox Judaism]]
==Definitions==
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===God===
In regard to God, the Reform movement has always officially maintained a [[theistic]] stance, affirming the belief in a [[personal God]].<ref>Kaplan, ''American Reform: an Introduction'', p. 29; ''Challenges and Reflections'', p. 36; ''Contemporary Debates'', 136–142.;[[Jonathan Romain]] ''Reform Judaism and Modernity: A Reader'', SCM Press, 2004. p. 145.</ref> Despite this official position, some voices among the spiritual leadership have approached [[religious humanism|religious]] and even [[secular humanism]].
Early Reform thinkers in Germany clung to this precept;<ref>Meyer, p. 96.</ref> the 1885 [[Pittsburgh Platform]] described the "One God... The God-Idea as taught in our sacred Scripture" as consecrating the Jewish people to be its priests. It was grounded on a wholly theistic understanding, although the term "God-idea" was excoriated by outside critics. So was the 1937 Columbus Declaration of Principles, which spoke of "One, living God who rules the world".<ref>''Challenges and Reflections'', pp. 34–36.</ref> Even the 1976 San Francisco Centenary Perspective, drafted at a time of great discord among Reform theologians, upheld "the affirmation of God... Challenges of modern culture have made a steady belief difficult for some. Nevertheless, we ground our lives, personally and communally, on God's reality."<ref>Kaplan, ''Contemporary American Judaism: Transformation and Renewal'', pp. 131.</ref> The 1999 Pittsburgh Statement of Principles declared the "reality and oneness of God". British [[Liberal Judaism (UK)|Liberal Judaism]] affirms the "Jewish conception of God: One and indivisible, transcendent and immanent, Creator and Sustainer".
===Revelation===
The basic tenet of Reform theology is a belief in a continuous, or progressive, [[Revelation#Judaism|revelation]],<ref>Dana Evan Kaplan, ''Contemporary Debates in American Reform Judaism'', Routledge, 2013. p. 239.; ''Challenges and Reflections'', pp. 27, 46, 148.; Elliot N. Dorff, ''Conservative Judaism: Our Ancestors to Our Descendants'', United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, 1979. pp. 104–105.</ref><ref name="Bor">Eugene B. Borowitz, ''Reform Judaism Today'', Behrman House, 1993. pp. 147–148.</ref> occurring continuously and not limited to the [[Mattan Torah|theophany at Sinai]], the defining event in traditional interpretation.
As in other [[Liberal religion|liberal denominations]], this notion offered a conceptual framework for reconciling the acceptance of critical research with the maintenance of a belief in some form of divine communication, thus preventing a rupture among those who could no longer accept a literal understanding of revelation. No less importantly, it provided the clergy with a rationale for adapting, changing and excising traditional mores and bypassing the accepted conventions of Jewish Law, rooted in the orthodox concept of the explicit transmission of both scripture and its [[Oral Torah|oral interpretation]]. While also subject to change and new understanding, the basic premise of progressive revelation endures in Reform thought.<ref name="JJ"/><ref>See also: [[Dana Evan Kaplan]], [http://forward.com/opinion/136237/ "In Praise of Reform Theology"], ''[[The Forward]]'', 16 March 2011.</ref>
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===Soul and afterlife===
As part of its philosophy, Reform Judaism anchored reason in divine influence, accepted scientific criticism of hallowed texts and sought to adapt Judaism to modern notions of rationalism.
==Practice==
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Religious inclusion for [[LGBT]] people and ordination of LGBT rabbis were also pioneered by the movement. Intercourse between consenting adults was declared as legitimate by the [[Central Conference of American Rabbis]] in 1977, and openly gay clergy were admitted by the end of the 1980s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Reform Jews open door to gay clergy: FIN Edition |work=Toronto Star |agency=Torstar Syndication Services |publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers |date=1990-06-26}}</ref> Same-sex marriage was sanctioned by the year 2000.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Reform rabbis affirm same-sex unions |journal=The Christian Century |date=19 April 2000 |volume=117 |issue=13 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A62023939/EAIM?u=usaskmain&sid=bookmark-EAIM&xid=ab5f7cbf |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref> In 2015, the URJ adopted a Resolution on the Rights of [[Transgender]] and Gender Non-Conforming People, urging clergy and synagogue attendants to actively promote tolerance and inclusion of such individuals.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McDonald |first1=James |title=Reform Judaism Just Became the Country's Most Trans-Inclusive Religious Group |url=https://www.out.com/news-opinion/2015/11/05/reform-judaism-just-became-countrys-most-trans-inclusive-religious-group |website=Out |publisher=Pride Publishing |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref>
American Reform, especially, turned action for social and progressive causes into an important part of religious commitment. From the second half of the 20th century, it employed the old rabbinic notion of ''[[Tikkun Olam]]'', "repairing the world", as a slogan under which constituents were encouraged to partake in various initiatives for the betterment of society. The [[Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism]] became an important lobby in service of progressive causes such as the rights of minorities. ''Tikkun Olam'' has become the central venue for active participation for many affiliates, even leading critics to negatively describe Reform as little more than a means employed by Jewish liberals to claim that commitment to their political convictions was also a religious activity and demonstrates fealty to Judaism. [[Dana Evan Kaplan]] stated that "''Tikkun Olam'' has incorporated only leftist, socialist-like elements. In truth, it is political, basically a mirror of the most radically leftist components of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] platform, causing many to say that Reform Judaism is simply 'the Democratic Party with Jewish holidays'."<ref>''Contemporary Debates'', pp. 122–123. See also: Darren Kleinberg, ''[https://www.academia.edu/28603703 Reform Judaism and the Jewish "Social Gospel"]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}''. CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly, Fall 2009.</ref> In Israel, the [[Israel Religious Action Center|Religious Action Center]] is very active in the judicial field, often using litigation both in cases concerning civil rights in general and the official status of Reform Judaism within the state, in particular.<ref>[[Aviad Hacohen|Aviad haCohen]], ?בית המשפט ובג"ץ: תל פיות לתנועה הרפורמית, in: Rosenak ed., pp. 439–479.</ref>
===Jewish identity===
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In 1926, British Liberals, American Reform and German Liberals consolidated their worldwide movement – united in affirming tenets such as progressive revelation, supremacy of ethics above ritual and so forth – at a meeting held in London. Originally carrying the provisional title "International Conference of Liberal Jews", after deliberations between "Liberal", "Reform" and "Modern", it was named [[World Union for Progressive Judaism]] on 12 July, at the conclusion of a vote.<ref>For the protocol of the vote, see: [https://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/09311/26F57247875C95E15D8A3BFD44937A2F0D87D56B.html "International conference of liberal Jews, Saturday, July 10th – Monday July 12th, 1926"], Jewish Religious Union. pp. 118–130.</ref> The WUPJ established further branches around the planet, alternatively under the names "Reform", "Liberal" and "Progressive". In 1945, the Associated British Synagogues (later [[Movement for Reform Judaism]]) joined as well. In 1990, [[Reconstructionist Judaism]] entered the WUPJ as an observer. Espousing another religious worldview, it became the only non-Reform member.<ref>[[American Jewish Committee]], ''American Jewish Year Book, 1992'', [[University of Nebraska Press]], 1992. p. 257.</ref> The WUPJ claims to represent a total of at least 1.8 million people – these figures do not take into account the 2013 PEW survey, and rely on the older URJ estimate of a total of 1.5 million presumed to have affinity, since updated to 2.2 million – both registered synagogue members and non-affiliates who identify with it.
Worldwide, the movement is mainly centered in North America. The largest WUPJ constituent by far is the [[Union for Reform Judaism]] (until 2003: Union of American Hebrew Congregations) in the United States and Canada. As of 2013,
The next in size, by a wide margin, are the two British WUPJ-affiliates. In 2010, the [[Movement for Reform Judaism]] and [[Liberal Judaism (UK)|Liberal Judaism]] respectively had 16,125 and 7,197 member households in 45 and 39 communities, or 19.4% and 8.7% of British Jews registered at a synagogue. Other member organizations are based in forty countries around the world. They include the [[Union progressiver Juden in Deutschland]], which had some 4,500 members in 2010 and incorporates 25 congregations, one in Austria; the [[Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom]], with 3,500 affiliates in 10 communities; the 13 Liberal synagogues in France; the [[Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism]] (5,000 members in 2000, 35 communities); the Movement for Progressive Judaism (Движение прогрессивного Иудаизма) in the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]] and [[Baltic States]], with 61 affiliates in [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]] and [[Belarus]] and several thousands of regular constituents; and many other, smaller ones.
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A relatively thoroughgoing program was adopted by [[Israel Jacobson]], a philanthropist from the [[Kingdom of Westphalia]]. Faith and observance were eroded for decades both by Enlightenment criticism and apathy, but Jacobson himself did not bother with those. He was interested in decorum, believing its lack in services was driving the young away. Many of the aesthetic reforms he pioneered, like a regular vernacular sermon on moralistic themes, would be later adopted by the [[Torah im Derech Eretz|modernist Orthodox]].<ref>Michael K. Silber, [http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Orthodoxy "Orthodoxy"], [[The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe]].</ref> On 17 July 1810, he dedicated a synagogue in [[Seesen]] that employed an organ and a choir during prayer and introduced some German liturgy. While Jacobson was far from full-fledged Reform Judaism, this day was adopted by the movement worldwide as its foundation date. The Seesen temple – a designation quite common for prayerhouses at the time; "temple" would later become, somewhat misleadingly (and not exclusively), identified with Reform institutions via association with the elimination of prayers for the Jerusalem Temple<ref>Meyer, p. 42.</ref> – closed in 1813. Jacobson moved to Berlin and established a similar synagogue, which became a hub for like-minded intellectuals, interested in the betterment of religious experience. Though the prayerbook used in Berlin did introduce several deviations from the received text, it did so without an organizing principle. In 1818, Jacobson's acquaintance Edward Kley founded the [[Hamburg Temple]]. Here, changes in the rite were eclectic no more and had severe dogmatic implications: prayers for the [[Third Temple|restoration of sacrifices]] by the [[Messiah in Judaism|Messiah]] and [[Gathering of Israel|Return to Zion]] were quite systematically omitted. The Hamburg edition is considered the first comprehensive Reform liturgy.
While Orthodox protests to Jacobson's initiatives had been scant, [[Hamburg Temple disputes|dozens of rabbis throughout Europe united to ban the Hamburg Temple]]. The Hamburg reformers, still attempting to play within the limits of rabbinic tradition, cited canonical sources in defence of their actions; they had the grudging support of one liberal-minded rabbi, [[Aaron Chorin]] of [[Arad, Romania|Arad]], though even he never
The massive Orthodox reaction halted the advance of early Reform, confining it to the port city for the next twenty years. As acculturation and resulting religious apathy spread, many synagogues introduced mild aesthetic changes, such as vernacular sermons or somber conduct, yet these were carefully crafted to assuage conservative elements (though the staunchly Orthodox opposed them anyhow; secular education for rabbis, for example, was much resisted). One of the first to adopt such modifications was Hamburg's own Orthodox community, under the newly appointed modern Rabbi [[Isaac Bernays]]. The less strict but still traditional [[Isaac Noah Mannheimer]] of the [[Vienna]] [[Stadttempel]] and [[Michael Sachs (rabbi)|Michael Sachs]] in [[Prague]], set the pace for most of Central and Western Europe. They significantly altered custom, but wholly avoided dogmatic issues or overt injury to Jewish Law.<ref>Meyer, ''Response'', pp. 55–58, 111–115, 150–157.</ref>
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