Progressive Judaism (United Kingdom)
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| The Movement for Progressive Judaism - תנועת ליהדות המתקדמת | |
|---|---|
 Official logo of the Movement for Progressive Judaism | |
| Classification | Judaism |
| Orientation | Progressive Judaism |
| Theology | Progressive Judaism / Reform Judaism/Liberal Judaism |
| Co-Leads | Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy |
| Chair of Advisory Board | Dr Edward Kessler |
| Chairs of Clergy Bodies | Rabbi Shulamit Ambalu Rabbi Igor Zinkov |
| Associations | World Union for Progressive Judaism |
| Region | United Kingdom |
| Founder | The Movement for Reform Judaism Liberal Judaism |
| Congregations | 77 |
| Official website | www |
| World Union for Progressive Judaism |
|---|
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| Regional affiliates |
The Movement for Progressive Judaism, commonly known as Progressive Judaism, is a WUPJ-affiliated Jewish denomination in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Formed by the merger of The Movement for Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism, the new organisation was Britain's second largest Jewish denomination in terms of individual members, representing around 30% of synagogue-affiliated Jews.[1] In terms of congregations, it is Britain's largest synagogue organisation, with around 80 member communities across the UK and Ireland.[2][3]
The Progressive approach to Judaism blends tradition with modernity, with a focus on shared values, diverse voices, and a commitment to inclusion and equality.[4]
The intention to create one Progressive Judaism for the UK was first announced in April 2023[5] and then confirmed on 18 May 2025, when the member communities of both organisations voted to unite into one movement.[6][7] The legal process to dissolve Reform/Liberal Judaism and substitute a singular Progressive Judaism was completed at the end of 2025.[1][8]
Progressive Judaism is a member of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and dates its history back to the Haskalah (Jewish enlightenment) of the 1770s and the introduction of Reform Judaism to Britain from the 1840s.
Progressive Judaism (sometimes also referred to as Reform Judaism or Liberal Judaism) understands that the religion’s formative texts are not the literal word of God, but the divinely inspired work of human beings. It believes in Progressive revelation and the overriding importance of values and ethics in defining how people should behave.[9][10]
In practical terms, Progressive Judaism’s fundamental principle is equality. Services are egalitarian with everyone sitting together and all able to read from the Torah. The British Progressive clergy (of rabbis and cantors) is 50% women and 20% LGBTQI+.[11] Boys and girls are both bar/bat mitzvah at age 13.
UK Progressive communities fully welcome mixed-faith families and hold dual-heritage wedding blessings.[12] They also conduct same-sex marriages (which its founding movements campaigned to bring into law alongside the Quakers and Unitarians).[13][14]
In British and Irish Progressive Judaism (as well as in North American and Australasian Progressive/Reform Judaism), Jewish status can be inherited from either parent where a child is brought up as Jewish, sometimes referred to as equilineal descent. Traditionally Jewish status has been inherited from the mother, as still practised by Orthodox and other forms of Judaism. Equilineal descent was first introduced in 1955.[15]
Modern Progressive Jewish liturgy uses gender-inclusive language, avoiding masculine terms for God such as 'Lord', 'King' and 'He' and, through substitutions such as 'ancestors' for 'fathers', ensuring that women are not subsumed under men [16] In 1995, Rabbi John Rayner explained: "The truth is: literally, God is neither male nor female; metaphorically, God is both!".[17] Writing in 2024, Rabbi Paul Freedman said: "God's name is no longer translated as 'the Lord' but, without the male (and feudal) associations, as 'the Eternal' or 'Eternal One', capturing something of the meaning of the Hebrew word."[18] Any new Progressive prayer books are also released with transliteration, Hebrew spelt out phonetically in English so anyone can follow and read along.[19]
According to Rabbi Josh Levy, Progressive Judaism is a Zionist movement that is committed to a "Jewish, liberal, pluralist, democratic state in our historic homeland". However, Levy has noted that the Gaza War has troubled many British Jews and that critics of Israel would not be ostracized from the movement. Rabbi Charley Baginsky has stated that the movement allows for critique of Israel, stating that a person can be Jewish and a proud Zionist while believing "the Israeli government does not speak with our voice".[20]
