As we approach Yom Kippur on Oct. 4, also known as the Day of Atonement—the holiest day of the year in Judaism—Martin Vesole, former president of Temple Menorah in Chicago, and author of a well-regarded novel about the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, says his religious tradition must adapt or risk fading into irrelevance.
“Twenty percent of Americans describe themselves as ‘spiritual but not religious’—they’re part of the 46 million religiously unaffiliated adults in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center,” says Vesole, a former attorney and author of the Jewish-themed novel “Sleeping Truth.”
Of religiously unaffiliated adults, more than two thirds say they believe in God, and one in five say they pray daily. Only 13 million are self-described agnostics or atheists. “To me, this says that faith is alive and well in 2014,” Vesole says.
“However, particularly for younger people, the compulsory traditions of organized religion are viewed as archaic, though the need for purpose and meaning in life remain strong. Organized religion can be doing more to remain relevant to the millions who are hungry for spiritual significance.”
Organized religions have adapted and evolved throughout history, Vesole notes, citing examples in the history of the Jews:
•Fundamental aspects of Judaism changed to meet changing needs. Judaism began as a family religion with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and become a tribal one following the Exodus from Egypt. It evolved from rulership by wise men to rulership by kings. The building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and then its destruction; the writing of the Talmud, formerly an oral tradition; and the Reform Movement in Europe which allowed Jews to better integrate secularly into the modern world.
•The Age of Enlightenment marked a step away from tradition and a step toward individualism. Both Judaism and Christianity saw many of their faithful distance themselves somewhat from religious tradition as they embraced reason in the 17th and 18th centuries. This led to significant contributions to academia and the secular tradition by the likes of such iconic figures as Galileo, Newton, Descartes and Freud.
Vesole cites Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel: “…Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant …when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion—its message becomes meaningless.”
Confronted by the science and religious pluralism of the 21st Century, Judaism needs to change again, Vesole says. Dissatisfied with the “truths” taught to them by the Judeo-Christian religions, people are looking to the Eastern religions and to such other sources of comfort and enlightenment such as yoga, meditation, The Secret, and the like.
“If secular Jews delegate Judaism to the province of the Orthodox, the religion will fade into irrelevant obscurity,” he says. “We will become more like the Amish than a player on the world stage.”
Just one example of the arbitrary laws limiting Judaism’s scope and future is the one that says only those born of a Jewish mother are considered Jewish, he says. As a result of that, countless numbers of genetically Jewish individuals have been dismissed from the faith because their Jewish parent happened to be the father.
“Hitler said you were Jewish if you had one Jewish grandparent,” Vesole says. “I think those who were Jewish enough for Hitler should be Jewish enough for us as well. Yom Kippur is a time for forgiveness, repentance and to try to change one’s ways,” he says.
“It’s a time to look at the larger picture; our religion needs reform,” he says. “I see no reason why we shouldn’t seriously consider plausible ideas from other traditions, such as reincarnation, which aligns with our spiritual tenets more than many of us realize.”
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