- Founder
- Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan
- Time Period
- 1934
- Description
- Reconstructionist Judaism is a progressive American-based Jewish movement that originated in the mid-1930s based on the philosophy of American Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan (1881-1983), who wanted to emphasize the communal aspects of Judaism and ethnic identity without strict adherence to the supernatural elements of Jewish tradition. Through Kaplan’s writings, including the influential Judaism as a Civilization (1934), the movement spread across the United States.Despite the dissemination of Reconstructionist thought since the 1930s, the first Reconstructionist organization did not form until the late 1960s, with the founding of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1968 and the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation in 1969. Kaplan wanted Conservative Judaism to recognize the movement as its left wing, but after the movement failed to change formal Jewish organizations, Reconstructionists began forming their own schools and congregational federations.Though smaller than Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative Judaism, the Reconstructionist branch remains the first exclusively American Jewish movement.
- Interactive Timeline(s)
- Social Movements and Religion Religious Minorities (Non-Christian)
- Browse Related Timeline Entries
- Social Movements and Religion in American History Religious Minorities (Non-Christian) in American History
- Religious Groups
- Timeline Entries for the same religious group Judaism Family Judaism Family: Other ARDA Links
- Photographs
-
.jpg)
Shabbat service at a Jewish Reconstructionist temple- Flickr- photo by Richard Cahan (CC BY-NC 2.0) -
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan- Wikimedia Commons -
Judaism as a Civilization, title page- Hathi Trust -
.jpg)
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College sign- Wikimedia Commons- photo by Ike9898 (CC BY-SA 3.0) - Book/Journal Source(s)
- Lippy, Charles, and Peter Williams, 2010. Encyclopedia of Religion in America. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.
- Web Page Contributor
- Benjamin T. Gurrentz Affliated with: Pennsylvania State University, Ph.D. in Sociology
Syntax Repository
Download syntax files and recreate popular religious schemes in survey data.
Measurement Wizard
Browse 165 concepts used in the study of religion, review how survey researchers measured them in the past, and quickly compare the results of more than 7,600 survey questions.
Data Archive
The archive is a collection of surveys, polls, and other data submitted by the foremost scholars and research centers in the world. Review and analyze data online, or download free of charge.
Compare Nations + Regions
Compare up to eight nations or eight regions of the world on all measures included in the National and Regional profiles.
Regional Profiles
Examine the religious composition, religious freedoms, demographics and multiple social and political measures for 22 global regions and the world.National Profiles
Examine the religious composition, religious freedoms, demographics, constitutional clauses, survey findings and multiple social and political measures for 250 nations.
GIS Maps
View neighborhood maps of congregations and generate a community profile for your area of interest.Maps
View maps of the United States and individual states for hundreds of variables, including congregational membership, census data, crime statistics and many others.
Reports
Generate congregational membership reports for any county, state and urban area in the United States using data collected by the Religious Congregations & Membership Study.US Congregational Membership
Compare Members
Compare the members of 31 different religious groups (including agnostics and atheists) using data from the 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, collected by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.Group Profiles
The profiles chart schisms and mergers, document membership trends, offer basic descriptions, and link to additional resources for more than 400 past and present American religious groups.
Religion Family Trees
Family trees diagram the rich history of major world religions and American denominations.
QuickLists
Using the best available data, the following lists provide data on American and international religion in rank order.
U.S. Congregations
Browse dozens of topics from a major national survey of religious congregations. See how the responses vary by the size, religious family and region of the congregation.U.S. Surveys
Browse dozens of topics covered by major national surveys. See how the responses vary by demographic categories and, when available, how they change over time.QuickStats / QuickLists
Religious Minorities
Through the aid of text, pictures, and graphics, explore the history of non-Christian religious minorities in the United States.Social Movements & Religion
Interactively explore the role of religion within various social movements in the United States history.Prominent Religious Events & People
Interactively explore the most significant events and people in the history of American religion.
U.S. Maps
View maps of the United States and individual states for hundreds of variables, including congregational membership, census data, crime statistics and many others.International Maps
World and regional maps for measures of religious adherence, socio-economics, and religion and state relations.GIS Maps
View neighborhood maps of congregations and generate a community profile for your area of interest.
|
Reconstructionist Judaism
Timeline > Movements 
|
Subscribe to the ARDA: 
Copyright © The Association of Religion Data Archives. All Rights Reserved.