I'm partway through Judaism as a Civilization and I've been thinking about the relationship between Kaplan's beliefs and the Reconstructionist movement.
I'm curious, of those folks who belong to a congregation that has a denomination- what does that denomination mean to you? Do you feel a greater connection to your synagogue or its movement?
've never been part of a Reconstructionist congregation officially. I missed my opportunity when I lived in NYC, and now there isn't a reconstructionist synagogue within over 3,000 kilometers (that's about 2,000 miles), so my knowledge on the movement is a bit more academic
But my connection to it is best understood in why I don't connect much with either Humanist or Reform.
I went to a Humanist congregation once, and I saw that they'd changed the prayers. I know several Humanist Jews and they've told me they like the fact that the prayers reflect their honest beliefs, which doesn't include God.
But for me, the important part of the prayers is the knowledge that when I participate in them, I'm putting myself squarely in the lineage of Jews going back 5,000 years. I imagine all the Jews that came before me, and the ones across the world saying these same words. To change them is not just a statement about God, but about one's relation to the Jewish people.
Reform makes sense to me, but somehow doesn't connect. Even though I'm secular, Reform always seemed "easy". It seems too eager to interpret halakha in a way that's convenient, especially in light of the way it views halakha as non-binding. But then if halakha is not binding, then I don't feel the meaningful differences between Reform and Humanist other than an expressed belief in God.
I feel that even if I choose not to follow in all Jewish law, the laws themselves have value and rejecting them must come from a deep place of introspection, both on a rabbinical and personal level.
I think that's why I'd feel more comfortable in Reconstructionist or Conservative Judaism than other movements.