IOverview
Reform Judaism is the earliest of the modern Jewish movements. It treats traditional law, halakha, as valued guidance rather than binding in every detail, and leaves the informed conscience of each person to decide how to observe.
In Britain and Europe it is often called Progressive or Liberal Judaism. In a Reform synagogue you will usually find mixed seating, women rabbis and cantors, much of the liturgy in the vernacular alongside Hebrew, and often an organ or other instruments.
IIHistory
In the early 19th century Jews in the German states were gaining civil rights and entering general schools and professions. Some communities wanted worship closer to contemporary sensibilities. In 1818 the Hamburg Temple opened with German sermons, a choir, an organ and a shortened prayer book. Rabbi Abraham Geiger, 1810 to 1874, was the leading thinker, applying historical scholarship to tradition.
German immigrants brought the movement to the United States. Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise founded the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1873 and Hebrew Union College in 1875. The Pittsburgh Platform of 1885 took a radical line, while the Columbus Platform of 1937 turned back toward ritual, Hebrew and attachment to the Land of Israel.
- 1818Hamburg TempleThe first major reformed synagogue, the usual starting date.
- 1875Hebrew Union CollegeThe movement's rabbinical seminary in Cincinnati.
- 1926World Union for Progressive JudaismFounded in London.
- 1972First woman rabbi in the USSally Priesand is ordained at Hebrew Union College.
- 1983Patrilineal descentAmerican Reform rabbis recognise children of a Jewish father if raised as Jews.
IIIBeliefs and Distinctives
- Progressive revelation: Torah records Israel's encounter with God, understood more fully by each generation rather than closed.
- Informed autonomy: each person studies the tradition and decides what to observe.
- Ethics before ritual: the prophets' call for justice and mercy is the core.
- Equality: men and women are equal in every religious role.
- Tikkun olam: repairing the world, linking faith to social action.
Reform does not require full observance of kashrut or of every Shabbat law, though many families keep some by choice. On interfaith marriage and on gay and lesbian Jews its positions are more open than those of other movements.
No. Reform is an understanding of Judaism with its own seminaries, rabbis, synagogues, prayer books and theology. Orthodox movements do not accept its view of halakha, and that principled disagreement between movements is described here without taking sides.
IVWorship, Rites and Daily Life
In many American Reform synagogues the main service is on Friday evening, welcoming Shabbat. The current North American prayer book is Mishkan T'filah. Bar mitzvah for boys and bat mitzvah for girls are marked equally, and many congregations hold confirmation for teenagers around Shavuot.
The High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and Pesach remain central. Some festivals are kept for one day as in Israel rather than the two days of traditional diaspora practice.
VOrganisation and Distribution
In North America congregations belong to the Union for Reform Judaism, rabbis to the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and training takes place at Hebrew Union College. Worldwide there is the World Union for Progressive Judaism, which according to its website, accessed in 2026, serves about 1.8 million members in over 1,250 congregations in more than 50 countries. These are self-reported figures with no stated year.
According to the Pew Research Center survey published in 2021, 37 percent of Jewish adults in the United States identify as Reform, the largest share of any movement. In Israel the Progressive movement is small, and the legal standing of its rabbis in public life remains contested.
VIIn Vietnam
The library has not found any source for an organised Reform congregation or group in Vietnam. Every organised Jewish centre the library has found in Vietnam belongs to Chabad, see the Chabad branch page. According to official figures cited by VietNamNet in 2025, Judaism is not among the sixteen religions recognised by the state.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIISub-branches
- Progressive Judaism (British and European usage)
- Liberal Judaism (UK)
IXOther Branches of Judaism
Reform Judaismיהדות רפורמית Yahadut ReformitTook shape in early 19th-century Germany (Hamburg Temple, 1818) and grew in North America.Uses the common symbol of the pathHaredi Orthodox Judaism, including Hasidismחרדים Haredim, חסידות HasidutStrictly traditional Orthodoxy centred on Talmud study, with distinctive dress.Uses the common symbol of the pathModern Orthodox Judaismאורתודוקסיה מודרנית, דתי לאומי Dati LeumiTook shape in mid-19th-century Germany with Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.Uses the common symbol of the pathConservative Judaism (Masorti)יהדות מסורתית MasortiTook shape with Zacharias Frankel in mid-19th-century Germany and in North America from 1886.Uses the common symbol of the pathReconstructionist JudaismReconstructionist JudaismGrew from the thought of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan in early 20th-century North America.Uses the common symbol of the path
Chabad-Lubavitchחב״ד ChabadA Hasidic group founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745 to 1812).Karaite Judaismיהדות קראית Yahadut Qara'itAccepts only the written Tanakh as supreme authority, rejecting the rabbinic Oral Torah and Talmud.Uses the common symbol of the pathXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
How does Reform differ from Orthodox Judaism?
Orthodoxy holds halakha to be binding divine law. Reform treats it as guidance, with each informed person deciding how to observe. That is why Reform has mixed seating and women rabbis and does not require full kashrut.
How many Reform Jews are there?
According to Pew Research Center in 2021, 37 percent of Jewish adults in the United States are Reform. The World Union for Progressive Judaism reports about 1.8 million members. There is no independent global count.
Are Progressive and Reform Judaism the same?
Essentially yes. It is called Reform in North America and often Progressive or Liberal in Britain and Europe, and all belong to the World Union for Progressive Judaism.