Editing Reform Judaism (section)

==Definitions==
Its inherent pluralism and the importance it places on individual autonomy impedes any simplistic definition of Reform Judaism;<ref name="GoldscheiderZuckerman">{{cite book |year=2004 |orig-year=1990 |surname=Goldscheider |given=Calvin |surname2=Zuckerman |given2=Alan |chapter=The Judaic Reformation as a Sociopolitical Process |pages=83–93 |title=Social Foundations of Judaism |editor-surname=Goldscheider |editor-given=Calvin |editor-surname2=Neusner |editor-given2=Jacob |editor-link2=Jacob Neusner |place=Eugene, Or |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publ. |edition=Reprint |chapter-url={{Google books|id=2TxLAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y|page=83|keywords=|text=}} |url={{Google books|id=2TxLAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} |isbn=1-59244-943-3}}</ref><ref name="KCR">{{cite book| last = Romain | first = Jonathan | author-link = Jonathan Romain| title = Tradition and Change: A History of Reform Judaism in Britain, 1840–1995| publisher = [[Vallentine Mitchell]] | year = 1995| location = London | pages = 39–45 | isbn = 978-0853032984}}<br>{{cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Dana Evan |title=The New Reform Judaism: Challenges and Reflections |year=2013 |author-link=Dana Evan Kaplan |pages=7, 315 |location=Lincoln, Na; Philadelphia, Pa |publisher=University of Nebraska Press; The Jewish Publication Society |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newreformjudaism0000kapl/page/n10/mode/1up |isbn=9781461940500 |oclc=857493257}}</ref><ref name="KareshHurvitz">{{cite encyclopedia |surname=Karesh |given=Sara E. |surname2=Hurvitz |given2=Mitchell M. |year=2005 |entry=Reform Judaism |title=Encyclopedia of Judaism |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions. [[J. Gordon Melton]], Series Editor |pages=419–422 |entry-url={{Google books|id=Z2cCZBDm8F8C|plainurl=y|page=419|keywords=|text=}} |url={{Google books|id=Z2cCZBDm8F8C|plainurl=y}} |isbn=0-8160-5457-6}}</ref> its various strands regard Judaism throughout the ages as a religion that was derived from a process of constant evolution. They warrant and obligate further modifications and reject any fixed, permanent set of beliefs, laws or practices.<ref name="JJ"/> A clear description of Reform Judaism became particularly challenging since the turn toward a policy that favored inclusiveness ("Big Tent" in the United States) over a coherent theology in the 1970s. This transition largely overlapped with what researchers termed the transition from "Classical" to "New" Reform Judaism in America, paralleled in the other, smaller branches of Judaism that exist across the world.<ref name="Neusner1993">{{cite book |year=1993 |editor-surname=Neusner |editor-given=Jacob |editor-link=Jacob Neusner |title=The Reformation of Reform Judaism |series=Judaism in Cold War America, 1945–1990, vol. 6 |place=New York; London |publisher=Garland Publ. |isbn=9780815300762}}</ref><ref name="KCR"/><ref name="KareshHurvitz" /> The movement ceased stressing principles and core beliefs, focusing more on the personal spiritual experience and communal participation. This shift was not accompanied by a distinct new doctrine or by the abandonment of the former, but rather with ambiguity. The leadership allowed and encouraged a wide variety of positions, from selective adoption of ''[[halakha|halakhic]]'' observance to elements approaching [[religious humanism]].<ref name="Meyer1988">{{cite book |surname=Meyer |given=Michael A. |author-link=Michael A. Meyer |title=Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1988 |location=New York |isbn=9780195051674 |url={{Google books|M12toEjI5PEC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

The declining importance of the theoretical foundation, in favour of pluralism and equivocalness, drew large crowds of newcomers. It also diversified Reform to a degree that made it hard to formulate a clear definition of it. Early and "Classical" Reform were characterized by a move away from traditional forms of Judaism combined with a coherent theology; "New Reform" sought, to a certain level, the reincorporation of many formerly discarded elements within the framework established during the "Classical" stage, though this very doctrinal basis became increasingly obfuscated. 

Critics, like Rabbi [[Dana Evan Kaplan]], warned that Reform became more of a ''Jewish activities club'', a means to demonstrate some affinity to one's heritage in which even rabbinical students do not have to believe in any specific theology or engage in any particular practice, rather than a defined belief system.<ref>Kaplan, ''Contemporary Debates'', pp. 136–142; ''New Reform Judaism'', pp. 6–8. Quote from: Kaplan, [http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/6350/features/faith-and-matrimony/ "Faith and Matrimony"], ''[[Jewish Ideas Daily]]'', 19 April 2013.</ref>