Thinking 101: Humanistic Judaism

What is Humanistic Judaism? Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of Humanistic Judaism answers and then poses the semi-rhetorical question:

Is it possible to have a secular Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc.? Is it possible to maintain one's ancestry whilst maintaining one's intellectual integrity?

I pose the question: Are these types of groups beneficial for secular humanism as a whole?

I'm not sure whether or not I should fully consider myself a Humanistic Jew at this point in time because, while I agree that there is no harm persay in maintaining a connection to one's ancestry, I have absolutely no desire to connect is a social setting such as a congregation to people outside of my own family. I don't see what is gained for me personally from this type of interaction. I do, however, feel a certain sense of connection specifically with Jewish humour moreso than I do with jewish music, dance, or literature. Most certainly, I have a deep sense of connection with my family, and my wife's family, which are both entirely Jewish (albeit rather secular) and who do celebrate the holidays, etc.

When my wife and I were married, we had a very small gathering of just our family and closest friends--approximately 30 people. Every person there except for two were jewish. For their sake moreso than for our own, we chose to have a rabbi officiate but asked that he do so with a humanistic approach as opposed to a more traditional one. The rabbi was a close friend of the family since childhood, and I was very good friends with his children. I will always remember his reply when we asked him to lead the service humanistically. He said, "I've always found it more difficult to have faith in men than in God." I agreed with him, and we moved on with our planning.

So ultimately, Im still rather confused as to how to integrate my ancestry with my philosophy, as my ancestry is so deeply rooted in religion. Perhaps you can help me to sort this out, and maybe realize something about yourself in the process.

Link to Rabbi Sherwin Wine's Lecture (1st of 5 Videos):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEzfvGo64Tg

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ThoughtfulAtheist
• TA
• Humanistic
• Judaism
• Jew
• Secular
• religion
• thinking
• 101

[gunzkillu]

wow, those 2, what a real pair of oxyMORONS lol

[ronschwartz1955]

As a Humanistic Jew, I can tell you that it's all about community, education, and traditions that are meaningful or made meaningful in a modern society.

[MegaEd4]

I appreciate the Thoughtful Atheist clip, and the Sherwin wine clip included in it.

[sabradan]

These subs are WAAAAAAY off.

[TheAmazingamerica]

You didn't put a shirt on or comb your hair before making a video? Why should xews be able to join the Gentile world at their whim? Fill out an application.

[bunsinspace]

@Wezuhley Good point.

[Wezuhley]

@bunsinspace i don't see these as mutually exclusive... the Jewish experience is many things to many people. One or multiple categories apply to any given Jew: a culture, a people, a religion, a heritage, a race (am I allowed to say that?). For Humanistic Jews, I would imply that to them it is a heritage and a culture, variant and disjointed as it may be. There's room for that distinction in our religion, maybe not so much in Islam...

[irgunlehistern]

I know you don't believe in God... that's fine... but could you believe in a shirt and then put it on?

[kelltal]

Great post - thanks! I'm also Jewish - as i like to describe it - "by default" - i.e. my mother is jewish, but i can't kid myself long enough to believe. And, although i think the religion itself is archaic/exclusive/impractical, I do value jewish culture - and I am not ashamed of having a jewish heritage and beonging to the jewish people.

[NOTMARBON]

Have you checked whether the Humanistic congregation

offers any T SHIRTS? They may even have your size.