For a philosophy, a culture, or a religion to have any meaning or staying power, it must:
- help us understand nature and the world around us,
- provide guidelines for improving the quality of our and otheršs lives,
- connect us to our roots by telling our story, and
- articulate the commonality of human needs, dreams, struggles, and triumphs.
Many Secular Humanistic Jewish ideas about life and Judaism are radically different from those of theistic Jewish movements. Our unique approaches and foci are based on a rational, secular and humanistic, worldview rather than a theistic or teleological one. For example:
| acquisition of knowledge through reason and scientific inquiry | not through faith or revelation |
| skepticism and innovation | not rigid truths and rules |
| human self-reliance | not reliance on prayer to a deity |
| human needs and dignity | not God's will and power |
| self-respect and respect for others | not humility and reverence for authority |
| personal autonomy and creative self expression | not obedience and group conformity |
| living life fully in the present | not dwelling on the past or future spiritual life |
| consequences of our actions in our lifetime | not reward or punishment in a world hereafter |
| universalism | not parochialism |
| ennobling the human spirit through aesthetics | not experiences of the divine |
It follows that our clergy will not use worshipful or prayer-like language or invoke the name of
any deity or supernatural force in our rituals or services. For us such statements (even in Hebrew) are simply not true and therefore we do not include them.
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