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Alternative Judaism




Alternative Judaism refers to some groups of people who, while identifying as Jew s in some fashion, nevertheless do not view themselves as conforming to Judaism as practiced by most Jews.

These alternative groups may have a variety of practices, but generally do not believe in the Jewish God . Instead, they have beliefs that fall outside of the traditional views of the Torah and Jewish Law . These movements may be explicitly Atheistic , or they may incorporate Pagan elements, or other religious traditions, like belief in Buddha .

Alternative forms of Judaism are nothing new in Jewish History , and have appeared in the past in such forms as the Sabbateans and Frankists which fell outside the common Orthodox /Non-Orthodox ( Reform / Conservative / Reconstructionist ) classification of the four major streams of today's recognized Jewish Denominations . These may be combinations of Jewish culture (see Secular Jewish Culture ) and symbolism with non-Jewish religions and philosophies.

Among the larger alternative movements are:

  • Humanistic Judaism , an organized group that takes atheistic or agnostic approach to Judaism and which has around 50,000 members worldwide in over 60 congregations.

  • Judeo-Paganism , a loosely-organized set of Jews who incorporate pagan or Wiccan beliefs.

  • Jewish Renewal , an organized spiritualist approach to Judaism, loosely based on Kabbalah and New Age principles, with around 50 congregations worldwide.

  • Jewish Buddhists , another loosely organized group that incorporates elements of Asian spirituality in their faith.

  • Messianic Judaism , a number of organizations (as well as unaffiliated individuals) who are religiously Christian (often much of the membership in such organizations is not actually Jewish).


There are also a number of non-Jewish movements that consider themselves to be "Israelites" due to a purported connection to the Lost Ten Tribes , such as the Anglo-Israelism movement. These groups are not generally made up of Jew s, and, in some cases deny that the current Jews are connected to the ancient Israelites.


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