I think that it was well before that but Google isn’t being friendly to me. BTW, there are way more Reform Jews in the U.S. than any other type and I think more than the rest put together. The Rabbi from my childhood temple just retired after over 30 years and the new Rabbi, a gay man, was overwhelmingly approved by the congregation. It wasn’t even big news because such things have been going on for years.
I’m a Reconstructionist Jew, kung fu lola, but what the hell 
: For when you do step through that door, I wish you *baruch haba/baruch haba’a * (*welcome * to the Tribe). 
I’m sure you already know this but, unfortunately, Judaism runs to conservatism in our fair city. The ‘Conservative’ synagogue I grew up associated with is referred to as ‘conservadox’ - it takes very Orthodox stances on issues such as women on the bimah, etc. In fact, I’m told by a reliable authority (ie, my mom) that there is only one rabbi in the city who will perform marriages of Jews to non-Jews. I fear it will take Montreal Judaism longer than elsewhere to catch up.
Sorry for the hijack!
I’m in a weird place WRT Judaism. I was born & raised Catholic but they mostly don’t want me. At least, they don’t want a practicing, married me.
So I think who does want me? Maybe I’ll convert to Judaism.
But then I figure it would be somewhat disingenuous to convert when I’m not all that sure there even is a God, much less all the other stuff you have to believe.
So I’m sorta screwed. I’d kinda like to find my place among the big three, but my pesky athiest-ish-ness questioning self really gets in the way.
Look into Reconstructionist Judiasm. I don’t know all the details yet, but many of the core issues focus on Judiasm as a social and ethical movement. According to our Reconstructionist Rabbi (in our conservative synagogue), converting becuase of a belief in the ethical and moral framework of Judiasm is sufficient within the Reconstructionist movement.
I have been exploring this issue with my Rabbi, since my husband is a non-believing former Catholic and had the same reservations about converting without a belief in God, as you do.
FWIW, I’m an athiest too, but born and practicing Jewish.
Come visit the Unitarians - you can be all of the “big three” at once if you want and question them all at the same time. My minister describes herself as agnostic.
I like the Unitarians. For a few years, my shul held its Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe, i.e., High Holy Days, i.e., Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur) services at a Unitarian church, and, in my experience (i.e., not knowing all that I’d like to know about the Unitarians), they’ve always seemed to be the closest non-Jewish counterpart to my okay-to-be-atheist, widely accepting of the notion of equality for all people (sexually, racially, ethnically, sexual orientation-wise), free-to-question, no one will tell you who/what “God” should mean to you, definitely social justice-oriented, ethics-striving Reconstructionist Judaism.
So, yeah, seems like a good thing.
Actually, the rabbi I studied with for conversion, and the Conservative bet din (“court” of three rabbis) that interviewed me when I converted didn’t ask me at all, IIRC, about my belief in God. They were more interested in my knowledge of Judaism and experience with Jewish religious practice. The conversion classes I took briefly touched on Jewish ideas about God, but spent a lot more time on topics like Jewish holidays and life-cycle events (such as weddings).
That’s one of the big differences between Judaism and Christianity, especially Catholicism. In Christianity, the important thing is “what do you believe?” In Judaism, the important thing is “what do you do?”
And there’s one of the other big differences between Judaism and Christianity. In the Torah, the patriarch Jacob gets his name of Israel after wrestling with a divine being. “Israel” literally means “one who has striven with God”. Questioning God and your beliefs isn’t a sin in Judaism like it is in some versions of Christianity, and that’s especially true in liberal (non-Orthodox) Judaism.
I often use the term “liberal Judaism” in the same way Anita Diamant and others do- meaning non-Orthodox Judaism. By that definition, Conservative Judaism is part of liberal Judaism.
Me too. If I hadn’t become Jewish, I would have seriously considered becoming a Unitarian.
IvoryTowerDenizen, Dangerosa, Anne Neville, thanks for sharing that. I didn’t mean to hijack my own thread but you’ve given me something to think really seriously about.
You wouldn’t believe what a relief - and how fascinating - I find this.
In other news in case someone’s interested, there’s a NYT article today about being gay and the evangelical church.
I’m going to do a very Jewish thing here, and recommend some books for you to read more about Judaism emphasizing actions over beliefs:
Becoming a Jew by Maurice Lamm. It’s about conversion from an Orthodox perspective (which I know you’re not contemplating), but it does have a lot about how Judaism is more about what you do than what you believe.
Choosing a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant, which is about conversion from a liberal Jewish perspective, touches on this subject as well (though doesn’t have nearly as much as Maurice Lamm’s book does).
Feel free to email me, if you’ve got questions or want to discuss things (my email’s in my profile).