MISSION STATEMENT

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The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit is the founding congregation of the movement for Secular Humanistic Judaism. Through celebration, education, mutual support, and community action, we provide experiences and activities that are consistent with the nontheistic philosophy of the Secular Humanistic Jewish movement. We are a welcoming, inclusive and intellectually inspiring community for people seeking such expressions of Jewish identity and culture.

 

VALUES STATEMENT

 

As members of the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit …

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• We affirm our connection with the Jewish People. We draw strength from Jewish history and culture. We see Jewish history as testimony to the continuing struggle for human dignity and, like the history of other peoples, as a product of human decisions and actions.

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• We demonstrate our connection to Jewish culture and history through lifelong learning and humanistic celebrations of Jewish customs such as holidays and life cycle events. We create and use Jewish rituals, services and celebrations in ways that help us to express our Humanistic values. We seek to foster a positive Jewish identity that is committed to intellectual integrity and ethical behavior.

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• We affirm the value of study and discussion of both Jewish and universal human issues. We rely on such sources as reason, observation, experimentation, creativity and artistic expression to address questions about the world and in seeking to understand our experiences.

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• We seek solutions to human challenges that respect the freedom, dignity and self-esteem of every human being. We make ethical decisions based on values that emphasize an assessment of the consequences of our actions.

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• We believe that human beings alone have the responsibility for solving human problems,  independent of supernatural concepts of authority. We believe that people must take responsibility for their own behavior. We also believe in taking collective responsibility for the future of our world.