Editing Jewish principles of faith (section)

===Reconstructionist Judaism===
{{Main|Reconstructionist Judaism#Beliefs}}
[[Reconstructionist Judaism]] is an American denomination that has a naturalist theology as developed by Rabbi [[Mordecai Kaplan]].<ref>Mordecai M. Kaplan, Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life (MacMillan Company 1934), reprinted by Jewish Publication Society 2010.</ref> Reconstructionism posits that [[God]] is neither personal nor supernatural. Rather, God is said to be the sum of all natural processes that allow man to become self-fulfilled. Rabbi Kaplan wrote that "to believe in God means to take for granted that it is man's destiny to rise above the brute and to eliminate all forms of violence and exploitation from human society".

Many Reconstructionist Jews reject theism, and instead define themselves as [[religious naturalist]]s. These views have been criticized on the grounds that they are actually atheists, which has only been made palatable to Jews by rewriting the dictionary. A significant minority of Reconstructionists have refused to accept Kaplan's theology, and instead affirm a theistic view of God.

As in Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism holds that personal autonomy has precedence over Jewish law and theology. It does not ask that its adherents hold to any particular beliefs, nor does it ask that [[halakha]] be accepted as normative. In 1986, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) and the Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations (FRC) passed the official "Platform on Reconstructionism" (2 pages). It is not a mandatory statement of principles, but rather a consensus of current beliefs. [FRC Newsletter, Sept. 1986, pages D, E.] Major points of the platform state that:

*Judaism is the result of natural human development. There is no such thing as divine intervention.
*Judaism is an evolving religious civilization.
*[[Zionism]] and [[aliyah]] (immigration to [[Israel]]) are encouraged.
*The laity can make decisions, not just rabbis.
*The Torah was not inspired by God; it only comes from the social and historical development of Jewish people.
*All classical views of God are rejected. God is redefined as the sum of natural powers or processes that allows mankind to gain self-fulfillment and moral improvement.
*The idea that God [[Chosen people|chose the Jewish people]] for any purpose, in any way, is "morally untenable", because anyone who has such beliefs "implies the superiority of the elect community and the rejection of others".

This platform puts Reconstructionist Jews at odds with all other Jews, as it seems to accuse all other Jews of being racist. Jews outside of the Reconstructionist movement strenuously reject this charge.

Although Reconstructionist Judaism does not require its membership to subscribe to any particular dogma, the Reconstructionist movement actively rejects or marginalizes certain beliefs held by other branches of Judaism, including many (if not all) of the 13 Principles. For example, Rabbi Kaplan "rejected traditional Jewish understandings of messianism. His God did not have the ability to suspend the natural order, and could thus not send a divine agent from the house of David who would bring about a miraculous redemption."<ref name=":0">Eric Caplan, From Ideology to Liturgy: Reconstructionist Worship and American Liberal Judaism (Hebrew Union College Press 2002)</ref> Rather, in keeping with Reconstructionist naturalist principles, "Kaplan believed strongly that ultimately, the world will be perfected, but only as a result of the combined efforts of humanity over generations." (Id. at 57) Similarly, Reconstructionism rejects the 13th principle of resurrection of the dead, which Kaplan believed "belonged to a supernatural worldview rejected by moderns". (Id. at 58.) Thus, the Reconstructionist Sabbath Prayer Book erases all references to a messianic figure, and the daily '[[Amidah]] replaces the traditional blessing of reviving the dead with one that blesses God "who in love remembers Thy creatures unto life". (Id. at 57-59.)