Mordecai Kaplan 1881 – 1983
Mordecai Kaplan (1881 – 1983) was a Lithuanian-American philosopher of the Contemporary era, associated with Jewish Philosophy and Pragmatism.
Mordecai Kaplan was a Lithuanian-born American Jewish philosopher and rabbi, long associated with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, a fourth American Jewish denomination that he conceived as a renewal of Judaism for the conditions of modern democratic and pluralist America. Judaism as a Civilization defined Judaism as the evolving religious civilization of the Jewish people, and so as something constituted by the people's ongoing creative life rather than by any fixed metaphysical claim. The Future of the American Jew and his many other books offered a comprehensive philosophy and program of Jewish religious life under conditions of modernity.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Lithuanian-American
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Jewish Philosophy, Pragmatism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Mordecai Kaplan:
“Judaism is the evolving religious civilization of the Jewish people.”
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Attributed to Mordecai Kaplan:
“God is the power that makes for salvation in the lives of human beings; God is real because the salvation is real.”
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Attributed to Mordecai Kaplan:
“Tradition has a vote, but it does not have a veto.”
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Attributed to Mordecai Kaplan:
“The Jewish people creates Judaism continuously; we are no museum of revealed truths.”
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Attributed to Mordecai Kaplan:
“Religion in America must be voluntary, or it ceases to be religion at all.”
Frequently asked about Mordecai Kaplan
- When did Mordecai Kaplan live?
- Mordecai Kaplan was born in 1881 and died in 1983.
- Where was Mordecai Kaplan from?
- Mordecai Kaplan was a Lithuanian-American philosopher of the Contemporary era.
- What philosophical movements is Mordecai Kaplan associated with?
- Mordecai Kaplan was associated with Jewish Philosophy and Pragmatism.
- What was Mordecai Kaplan known for?
- Mordecai Kaplan was a Lithuanian-born American Jewish philosopher and rabbi, long associated with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, a fourth American Jewish denomination that he conceived as a renewal of Judaism for the conditions of modern democratic and pluralist America.
- How many quotes are attributed to Mordecai Kaplan?
- There are 5 attributed quotations from Mordecai Kaplan in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.