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International Federation
of Secular Humanistic Jews
Secular Humanistic Judaism has been part of Jewish life for more than 100 years and has been identified with some of the most famous Jewish thinkers of modern times. Although many secular and humanistic communities and schools have existed and flourished for over eight decades, the Movement did not formally begin until these groups established national organizations in North America more than twenty-five years ago.
Secular Humanistic Judaism offers a non-theistic approach to Jewish identity and Jewish culture. It also promotes certain important values in Jewish life that the traditional establishments have resisted. These values are rationality, personal autonomy, feminism, the celebration of human strength and power, and the development of a pluralistic world with mutual understanding and cooperation among all religions and philosophies of life.
Secular Humanistic Judaism is a distinct alternative to Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist Judaism. It is estimated that close to 20 percent of world Jewry embraces Secularism, although most Secular Humanistic Jews are presently unaffiliated.
International Federation
The world expression of the Movement is the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews. The Federation presently consists of national organizations in Israel, the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Belgium, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Some 50,000 Jews are involved. The co-chairs of the International Federation are Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, founder of the Humanistic Jewish movement in North America, and Yair Tsaban, former Israeli Minister of Immigration and Absorption. The honorary co-chairs are Albert Memmi, well-known French writer and professor of sociology at the University of Paris, and Yehuda Bauer, noted historian and Holocaust scholar at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. There are six regions in the International Federation: North America, Israel, Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and Australia.
North America
In North American, the Society for Humanistic Judaism is one of is composed of two
organizations affiliated with the International Federation of Secular Humanistic
Jews. Together they embrace more than sixty communities and 15,000 people across the United States and Canada.
Society for Humanistic Judaism
The Society for Humanistic Judaism was founded in 1969 and consists of individual members - most of whom belong to communities and congregations throughout North America. The Society mobilizes people to celebrate Jewish identity and culture consistent with a humanistic philosophy of life. It helps Humanistic Jews organize local communities
and congregations and provides support and assistance to these communities. Communities affiliated with the Society host a wide range of inspirational, educational, and social programs that impart an understanding of Jewish history and culture and affirm a connection to the Jewish people. The Society sponsors training programs and conferences for its members. It gathers and creates educational and programmatic materials, including holiday and life-cycle celebrations. The Society for Humanistic Judaism publishes a tri-quarterly topical journal available to its members and by subscription.
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Statements
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