American Judaism: Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and Reconstructionist

 

Mark Bere Peterson’s Hauntings, Urban Legends the Northern Tradition and Southern Witchcraft

Whether you refer to them as denominations, streams, movements or branches the American Jewish experience is as diverse as their interpretation of traditional Jewish law or halacha. Outside North America, the non-Orthodox streams of Judaism play a less significant role, and in Israel the vast majority of synagogues and other Jewish religious institutions are Orthodox, even though most Israeli Jews do not identify as Orthodox. Evenwithin North America, the role of the movements has diminished somewhat in recent years, with growing numbers of American Jews and Jewish institutions identifying as “just Jewish.”

The largest affiliation of American Jews, some 35 percent of Jews identify asReform. The movement emphasizes the primacy of the Jewish ethical tradition over the obligations of Jewish law. The movement has traditionally sought to adapt Jewish tradition to modern sensibilities and sees itself as politically progressive and social-justice oriented while emphasizing personal choice in matters…

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