BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Judaism Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or other?

I was wondering about the few people in this forum - what kind of Jew do you consider yourself? I was raised by Conservative parents and now as an adult, I am Reform.
I heard of so many other catagories such as Reconstructionist Jew, Humanistic Jew, etc.
Maybe this would be a good article?

I think it's a great idea for an article. I'd like to explore each separate denomination but also focus a bit on "getting along". I'm sure some great things will come of it. If you have a specific topic in regards to the different denominations that you are interested in, I'll start there!

In a nutshell, I was raised in a conservative synagogue by reform parents and now belong to an orthodox synagogue.

Thanks for sticking around the Judaism forum. I see there hasn't been a lot of action in a long time. I hope to get it rolling again.

Hi Lisa. Just want to introduce myself and get involved a little! I may not be able to add much to the conversation, but I will try...

I thought a good topic might be the decline in conservatism. When I grew up, I thought everyone was conservative. But now, the conservative shuls are suffering with low membership and the orthodox and reform shuls are prospering. I wonder why the change?

I have something along these lines, as I would love to see yuor articles covering the three denominations.

There is a religious website out there and I take the "What religion are you" test and come up 100% Reform Judaism every single time. Conservative and Orthodox Judaism come up there in the 90% range.

I always thought I was a cross between Christian and Wicca, but cannot seem to follow through with being 100% of either.

Should I look at this Reform Judaism more?

Maybe this should be a separate question...???

Robin:
I just took that quiz and my results were:

1. Unitarian,
2. Quaker,
3. Secular Humanistic,
4. Reform Judaism.

Lisa: Thank goodness Judaism showed up there!
It would be a great article and I think we have a few more interested people that want to really learn the differences between all the branches of Judaism!

Lisa:

Your background is interesting - it is the opposite for me.
My parents have the separate silverware, and two more sets for Passover; we also have sets for non-kosher foods.

I am married and don't follow this in my apartment - the dietary laws are a little too strict for me, one of the reasons why I consider myself Reform - but I am also interested in the Reconstructive Branch and the Humanistic Jewish division as well.

Carol - thanks for saying hello. We will definitely explore the different denominations some time soon!

What is it everyone wants to know most? What ARE the differences? The history of how they developed?

Robin - do you have the link for that website? I'm curious! That's interesting that Judaism comes up so strongly for you. Were you raised with religion?

By the way, BillieCat, I would probably not call myself Orthodox though that is the synagogue we go to. We do keep kosher and have separate dishes and separate passover dishes. We still eat out in restaurants - though vegetarian. We do not "keep" Shabbat fully.

I found a test here -

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I wonder how they developed this "test"...

I was -
1. reform judaism 100
2. orthodox judaism 83
3. islam 79
4. sikhism 78
5. liberal quaker 67
6. bahai faith 64

Yes - it was on beliefnet - that's the test I was talking about. I have taken this test many times, all with the same results.

My mother took me to the Methodist church when I was little, and as I became an adult, I started thinking for myself. I couldn't really get away from my Christian beliefs, but I cannot go to church on a regular basis, either.

I have been really leaning toward Wicca, but don't have an altar, etc...