FOUNDED: 1886 C.E.
RELIGION AS A PERCENTAGE OF WORLD POPULATION: 0.024 percent

Overview

Conservative Judaism, developed in the United States, was a reaction to Reform Judaism's rejection of Jewish law and practice. In 1883 a group of traditional rabbis, vowing to "conserve" Judaism, came up with a moderate platform for a new movement under the motto "Tradition and Change," requiring fidelity to Jewish law and practice while acknowledging that Judaism had always been influenced by the societies in which Jews lived. The Conservative movement was officially launched in 1886 with the opening of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) in New York City. By 1975 more American Jews were affiliated with Conservative synagogues than with those of any other Jewish movement. With the dawn of the twenty-first century, however, the number of Conservative adherents had declined, and the population in Conservative synagogues had begun to age.

Branches of the...