Reconstructionism

American  

[ree-kuhn-struhk-shuh-niz-uhm] / ˌri kənˈstrʌk ʃəˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. a 20th-century movement among U.S. Jews, founded by Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, advocating that Judaism, being a culture and way of life as well as a religion, is in sum a religious civilization requiring constant adaptation to contemporary conditions so that Jews can identify more readily and meaningfully with the Jewish community.

---

Etymology

Origin of Reconstructionism

1940–45; reconstruction ( def. ) + -ism

Example Sentences

It can function as a verbal tic of sorts, implying that the speaker is drawing on a theological or philosophical system built on Christian Reconstructionism and dominionism.

From Salon • May 26, 2024

Reconstructionism is based on a foundational belief in multiracial democracy and in the tools we have to enforce the federal government’s promise of equality: voting, protesting, boycotting and other types of civic action.

From Washington Post • Nov. 2, 2022

Herb Titus, the lawyer converted by Christian Reconstructionism who was instrumental in its launch, describes his mission in developing a Christian law school as a fulfillment of a "dominion mandate."

From Salon • Aug. 21, 2011

And his conception of Judaism has grown into a thriving movement: Reconstructionism.

From Time Magazine Archive

Conservatives have eight synagogues in Israel, Reform has eight, and even Reconstructionism has one.

From Time Magazine Archive