Heschel was particularly spurned by his colleague Mordechai Kaplan, founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, and many students who attended JTS in the 1950s sympathized with Kaplan over Heschel.

Rather, it is sometimes employed by unaffiliated groups to indicate a range of beliefs and practices more liberal than is affirmed by the Orthodox, and more traditional than the more liberal Jewish denominations ( Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism ).

The first split in the Conservative coalition occurred in 1963, when followers of Mordecai Kaplan seceded from the movement to form a distinct Reconstructionist Judaism.

Mordecai Kaplan's religious naturalism ( Reconstructionist Judaism ) used to have an influential place in the movement, but since Reconstructionism developed as an independent movement, this influence has waned.

Conservative Jews believe that movements to its left, such as Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, have erred by rejecting the traditional authority of Jewish law and tradition.

Conservative Judaism views the process by which Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism make changes to Jewish tradition as potentially invalid.

Thus, Conservative Judaism rejects patrilineal descent and would hold that a child of a non-Jewish mother who was raised as a Reform or Reconstructionist Jew is not legally Jewish and would have to undergo conversion to become a Jew.

The founder of the Reconstructionist Movement, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan defines Judaism as an evolving religious civilization.

Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism both hold that modern views of how the Torah and rabbinic law developed imply that the body of rabbinic Jewish law is no longer normative ( seen as binding ) on Jews today.

* Reconstructionist Judaism, like Reform Judaism, does not hold that Jewish law, as such, requires observance, but unlike Reform, Reconstructionist thought emphasizes the role of the community in deciding what observances to follow.

Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism hold that halakha ( Jewish law ) is no longer binding, and rabbis in those movements follow their individual consciences on such matters ; some uphold the traditional prohibitions and some permit weddings on these days.

They have been accepted as religious holidays by the following groups: The Union of Orthodox Congregations and the Rabbinical Council of America ; The United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth ; Reform Judaism ; Conservative Judaism ; Reconstructionist Judaism ; the Union for Traditional Judaism.

Reconstructionist Judaism rejects the ideas of both a personal Messiah and a divinely instituted messianic age.

Like Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism has also altered traditional prayers so that they no longer refer to a personal Messiah.

On the other hand, Reconstructionist Judaism and Reform Judaism do not hold this view and allow homosexual intercourse.

Founders of the havurot included the liberal political activist Arthur Waskow, Michael Strassfeld ( who later became rabbi for a Conservative congregation and then moved on to serve a major Reconstructionist congregation ), and Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.

* In the 20th and 21st centuries, liberal Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis have fostered novel approaches to Jewish ethics, for example in the writings of Eugene Borowitz.

Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, consistent with their view that traditional religious law is not mandatory in modern times and a more liberal interpretation of gender roles, do not use mechitzos in their synagogues.

Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism, consistent with their view that traditional religious law is not mandatory in modern times and a more liberal interpretation of gender roles, do not use mechitzot in their synagogues.

Reform, Reconstructionist, and other more liberal branches of Judaism do not call for observance of the underlying traditional rules against carrying, and hence the issue of an eruv is not relevant.

The category of mamzer has no role in Reform Judaism or Reconstructionist Judaism, as these more liberal branches regard it as an archaism inconsistent with contemporary ethical behaviour.

The Conservative movement is committed to Jewish pluralism and respects the religious practices of Reform and Reconstructionist Jews.

The Reconstructionist movement sees homosexuality as a normal expression of sexuality and welcomes gays and lesbians into Reconstructionist communities to participate fully in every aspect of community life.

In 1993, a movement Commission issued: Homosexuality and Judaism: The Reconstructionist Position.

Finally, in 1968, his closest disciple and son-in-law Ira Eisenstein founded a separate school, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College ( RRC ), in which Kaplan's philosophy, Reconstructionist Judaism, would be promoted as a separate religious movement.

Reconstructionist Judaism () () is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan ( 1881 – 1983 ).

It made its greatest stride in becoming the fourth movement in North American Judaism ( Orthodox, Conservative and Reform being the other three ) with the founding of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1968.

Reconstructionist Judaism is the first major movement of Judaism to originate in North America ; the second is the Humanistic Judaism movement founded in 1963 by Rabbi Sherwin Wine.

This concern became a non-issue after the left-wing of the movement seceded in 1968 to form the Reconstructionist movement, and after the right-wing seceded in 1985 to form the Union for Traditional Judaism.

Jews outside of the Reconstructionist movement strenuously reject this charge.

* Ira F. Stone, rabbi, scholar of the Musar movement, and professor at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

The Conservative movement is perceived to have lost its uniqueness as its once-path-finding ideology of tradition and change has spread to and become a bedrock assumption of the Reform, Reconstructionist and " Renewal " groups, where services use Hebrew and traditional prayers, ( often in updated versions ) where study of traditional texts is considered important, where halacha ( Jewish law ) is treated with both respect and flexibility, and where egalitarian gender practices prevail.

While the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative movements openly advocate for the right to a safe and accessible abortion, the Orthodox movement is less unified on the issue.

A much more widespread havurah movement soon emerged, including self-governing havurot within Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist synagogues.

Members of the Christian Left who work on interfaith issues are part of building the Progressive Reconstructionist movement.

This is the official mahzor of the Reconstructionist movement in Judaism.

PRA responded to Kurtz by stating that the report was " a serious study of the Dominionist Christian Reconstructionist movement.

The Reconstructionist movement was the first to ordain homosexuals, all of which leads to this joke:

These critics claim the frequent use of the word, " dominion ", by Reconstructionist writers, strongly associates the critical term, Dominionism, with this movement.

* Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis, on the premise that all the main movements are legitimate expressions of Judaism, will accept the legitimacy of other rabbis ' leadership, though will not accept their views on Jewish law, since Reform and Reconstructionism reject Halakha as binding.

Other authors argue against a close connection with dominionism, for example Irving Hexham of the University of Calgary, who maintains that Schaeffer's political position has been misconstrued as advocating the Dominionist views of R. J. Rushdoony, who is a Christian Reconstructionist.

Reconstructionist and Reform Judaism, consistent with their views that the rhythm of the ancient sacrifices should no longer drive modern Jewish prayer, often omit some of the Amidah prayers, such as the Mussaf, omit temporal requirements, and omit references to the Temple and its sacrifices.

Christian Reconstructionist leader Gary North summarized his views this way:

He views their denial of the threefold distinction between moral, civil, and ceremonial law as representing one of the severe flaws in the Reconstructionist hermeneutic.