Reconstructionism

From Philosopedia

RECONSTRUCTIONISM

Reconstructionism in Judaism started as a 20th century American movement that advocates a creative adjustment to contemporary conditions for Jews.

It differs from Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative Judaism.

Reconstructionist Judaism accepts all forms of Jewish practice, regarding Judaism as a culture rather than a theological system. In its redefinition of Judaism, reconstructionism refers not only to religion but also to Judaism as a civilization that includes language, customs, and culture.

The movement was founded in 1922. In a 1934 book, Judaism as a Civilization, Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan wrote that the Jewish spirit is nourished through art, literature, and music. To him, God was not the personal deity portrayed by tradition. Rather, God is a symbol of the source of meaning, or the creative force found in the universe.

An estimated 15,000 Reconstructionist households existed in 1996. Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, executive director of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation in Philadelphia, has described the typical Reconstructionist synagogue as having 300 families. Most synagogues are found in the Northeast, but a 350-family congregation exists in Eugene, Oregon.

{CE; The New York Times, 20 January 1997}