History of Reform Judaism

History & overview · every faith gets one

Revelation continues — and ethics is its core.

Born in 19th-century Germany: Judaism as an evolving religious civilization, with the moral law at its center and informed autonomy governing personal practice.

The founding

No single founder — Reform Judaism accreted rather than began.

What it holds

The divine. One God.

Death and after. Emphasis on this world; the hereafter held lightly.

The line

descent is public here — where it came from, what left it

Judaism — c. 1000 BCE Reform Judaism — 1818 CE

Keep going

Back to the overview — the living page: elements, discussion, the web The Belief room — the claims themselves, with sources and context Branch Reform Judaism — inherit everything, change what you must