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Denominations

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Denominations and Sects provide a convenient means of dividing religions into their respective and/or competing variants, and are often inspired by inter-cultural and inter-traditional variations.  Sometimes these variations arise naturally (such as from a social-psychological standpoint) due to geographical isolation, but can also be the result of disagreements and fueds between religious leaders who could not unite on any number of points, along with a variety of other historic and/or opinion-oriented possibilities.

Included hereunder is an alphabetical listing of known denominations (numbered dynamically, and since this numbering can change as new variants are added it's best to reference a denomination or sect by its name), with some specific key highlights and informational links (if known) which are primarily intended to be helpful to researchers.

While the more well-known denominations of Judaism are included hereunder, it's possible that there remain denominations that are undiscovered or yet-to-be-invented by future Jews with new ideas that challenge old-fashioned traditions.

1. Haredi
   • An off-shoot of Orthodox Judaism that rejects secularism, and is opposed to societal changes.  Its adherents strongly embrace traditional values of Judaism at the cost of distinctly rejecting almost everything that's modern.
2. Hasidic (a.k.a., Hasidism)
   • An off-shoot of Orthodox Judaism which adheres more closely to the Lurianic Kabbalah school of kabbalah that arose as more of a spiritual movement in Western Ukraine, and which resides mostly in Israel and the United States of America.
   • Israel Ben Eliezer, the "Baal Shem Tov," is considered to be the founding father.
3. Haskalah (a.k.a., Jewish Englightenment)
   • An intellectual movement from Eastern- and Central-Europe that embraced and promoted a variety of modern values including free-thought, secularism, liberalism, and free inquiry.
   • Aimed to preserve Jews as a distinct group of people with a uniquely collectivistic culture.
   • Pioneered a revival of the Hebrew language in literature and the modern press.
   • Influenced Muslim culture and European civilization between 1770 CE and 1880 CE.
4. Haymanot
   • Practiced primarily by Ethiopian Jews (a.k.a., Beta Israelites).
5. Humanistic (a.k.a., "non-theistic")
   • Founded by Sherwin Wine, this denomination promotes Jewish identity as derived from Jewish culture and history.
6. Jewish Renewal
   • A non-institutional and mostly-inclusive counter-cultural movement from the 1960s that embraces ecstatic worship and the mysticism of Hasidism.
   • Rejects the halakic rigor of Orthodox Jeduaism.
7. Jewish Science
   • A combination of Christian Science and Judaism that was originally founded as a Jewish movement in the early 20th century by Morris Lichtenstein and Alfred Moses.
   • They believe that God is an energy-force that penetrates reality to provide spiritual growth and personal healing to those who practice affirmative prayer.
   • In New York, USA, the Society of Jewish Science is the institutional arm that also regularly publishes The Interpreter.
8. Karaite
   • Rejects the authority of Rabbinic works like the Talmud and the Midrashim.
   • Accepts only the Tanakh as divinely inspired.
9. Masorti (a.k.a., Conservative)
   • This movement erupted in 19th century Germany after a schism between Orthodox Jews and Reformed Jews as a means to provide a more traditional halakhically-based alternative to Reformed Judaism for Jews seeking a more liberalized variation of Orthodox Judaism.
10. Modern Orthodox
    • An off-shoot of Orthodox Judaism that attempts to integrate traditional Jewish values with secularism.
11. Neolog
    • Situated in Hungary, Neolog Judaism is similar to traditional branches of American Masorti Judaism (essentially, Conservative Judaism that found its way to the United States of America).
12. Orthodox
    • Orthodox Jews generally regard their religion as "normative" in an all-encompassing way.
13. Reconstructionist
    • An American off-shoot of Conservative Judiasm that began as a liberal movent in the 1940s.
14. Reform (a.k.a., Reformed, Progressive, or Liberal)
    • Formed reactively in Germany to conflicts arising between social integration and modernity.
    • Embraced personal interpretations of the Torah.
15. Samaritans
    • Descended from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh (two sons of Joseph), and the Levites who have links to ancient Samaria (constituting the majority of the West Bank territory) from the period of their entry into Canaan.
    • Believe that their worship, which is based on the Samaritan Pentateuch, is the true religion of the ancient Israelites from before the Babylonian captivity, preserved by those who remained in the Land of Israel (as opposed to Judaism, which they see as a related but altered and amended religion, brought back by those returning from the Babylonian Captivity).
    • Believe that Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of Israel (from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan).