Freethinkers Forum: What Do American Jews Believe?

While most Jewish Americans believe in some higher power or spiritual force, many do not literally believe in the “God of the Bible.” What do they believe? In this talk, we will discuss how Judaism is much more than a religion, and how liberal-religious and secular Jews find meaning in Jewish culture, history, identity, and community beyond religious expression. We will also universalize the phenomenon, to discuss the wider implications for secular and humanistic people of all backgrounds. Must secular people reject religious tradition wholesale, or might we be throwing the baby out with the bathwater?

Paul Golin, our discussion leader, is the executive director of the Society for Humanistic Judaism (www.SHJ.org), the community-organizing umbrella of a 60-year-old congregational denomination of American Jewry. He also serves as lead staff for SHJ’s pluralistic social justice initiative, Jews for a Secular Democracy (www.JFASD.org), mobilizing Jewish voices to defend the separation of religion and government. Paul is a writer, speaker, advocate, and consultant on issues including secularity, intermarriage, disaffiliation, and inclusion. He co-authored two books and his writing has appeared in the Forward, Jewish Week, Huffington Post, and elsewhere. He is the white Ashkenazi half of a “Jewpanese” (Jewish/Japanese) multiracial household and administers the Jewpanese page on Facebook.

Freethinkers Forum meets the second Sunday of every month from noon - 1:30 pm in a hybrid format, in person at UU Santa Fe on the corner of Barcelona and Galisteo, and via zoom. To get the zoom link, go to Events on our meetup site, and click that you will attend, then you can access the zoom link at the Online event icon.

We are a gathering of freethinkers and humanists, people from all faiths or none, who come together to discuss collaboratively-chosen topics, to listen with open minds, share with open hearts, work together on social activism projects and share supportive community. Our general format is a short presentation followed by an hour or so of open discussion of the subject. All are welcome, and all outlooks on the topics are respected. We aim to learn from each other and celebrate our diversity!

For more information, or to suggest topics or activities, contact:
Jim Applegate: leasecow42@gmail.com
Kalb Bair: torvannn@gmail.com
Dorothy Bracey and the Action Team: dorothy@dorothybracey.com
Roger Brumley: rellisbrumley@msn.com
Mim Chapman: mimcsf@gmail.com
Gail Funk: freethinkerssf@gmail.com
Mary Ellen Gonzales: maryellengonzales@gmail.com