The Union for Traditional Judaism: A case study of contemporary challenges to a new religious movement

"The intellectual thinness of American Judaism is a tragedy only to the elite."1 So concluded Charles Liebman in 1970 when accounting for the failure of Reconstructionism---a breakaway religious movement that for decades had occupied the left wing of Conservative Judaism---to attract a wider following among American Jews. This development was particularly intriguing given the fact that, as Liebman demonstrated, the grass roots or "folk" religion of most American Jews was largely Reconstructionist in nature.;Might Liebman's epitaph also be applied to a quite different contemporary example---the Union for Traditional Judaism? Created in 1983 as the Union for Traditional Conservative Judaism (UTCJ), its origins are found in what was probably the most turbulent period in the over century long history of Conservative Judaism, one of the largest mainstream American Jewish religious denominations. When the UTCJ was formed, it was believed by its founders (and numerous outside observers) that it would attract a great deal of support and energy from many of the most active and knowledgeable members of the Conservative movement---particularly from the rabbinate. Yet for the past two decades, the UTCJ---and its successor, the UTJ---have continued to encounter difficulties surviving---let alone thriving---in the American Jewish religious marketplace. Why has this been the case? Why do some new religious movements succeed, then, where others do not?;This dissertation identifies five central themes that are integral to all successful, new religious movements. These themes are: (1) charismatic leadership to legitimate the new religious enterprise; (2) proactive involvement with issues that concern the folk; (3) establish a distinct identity; (4) attract committed financial and human resources; (5) maximize location and communication. All five themes need to be addressed by emerging religious movements; avoiding them means running a high risk of failure. The five themes that are identified, although distinct, are not mutually exclusive; they do overlap on occasion. Nonetheless, ignoring all of them will surely lead to the failure of an emerging new religious movement, as evidenced in the case of the UTJ.;1Charles Liebman, "Reconstructionism in American Jewish Life," American Jewish Year Book 1970, 95.