This is an issue that has been upsetting people for a long time. Possible syncretism between American Judaism and Unitarianism arose first in the late 19th century. Some reforming rabbis believed that given what seemed like friendly Unitarian interest in Judaism, some of them might be attracted to a universalized form of Judaism. Solomon Sonneschein, a Reform rabbi in St. Louis, who believed that Judaism was, in its essence, a universal religion thought that Judaism and Unitarianism might be able to merge. In 1881, however, he announced that Unitarians were still too limited by prejudice to be able to accept Jews as equals or to consider adherence to a Jewishly identified faith.
In 1886, after an acrimonious departure from his St. Louis congregation, Sonneschein visited Boston where he met with two leading Unitarian ministers and spoke in a local Unitarian church. Back in St. Louis, the congregation considered rehiring Sonneschein but had to look into his seeming apostasy. Questioned by his congregation, he declared that his Boston discussions were meant Ì¢âÂåto ascertain how far I, as a Hebrew theologian, could conscientiously go for the advancement of that sacred cause which both the advanced American Jew and advanced American Christian have in common without losing the integrity and identity of my Hebrew affiliations of birth and conviction.Ì¢âÂå The scandal over SonnescheinÌ¢âÂã¢s behavior and beliefs roiled the St. Louis Jewish community for many years and brought forth a general denunciation of Sonneschein by his rabbinical colleagues. Then as now, many Jews feel quite uncomfortable when someone suggests that there may not be clear boundaries between their faith and those associated with other religious traditions.
Sonneschein, by the way, was the husband of Rosa Sonneschein, beloved at the Jewish WomenÌ¢âÂã¢s Archive, as the creator and editor of the American Jewess, the first English-language periodical for and by Jewish women, which is accessible and searchable on JWAÌ¢âÂã¢s website. Her pioneering entry into publishing came after a highly publicized and difficult divorce from her Unitarian-leaning husband, though it probably had more to do with personal issues on both sides than with his religious inclinations.
Sources: Eric Goldstein, The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity and Walter Ehrlich, Zion in the Valley: The Jewish Community of St. Louis, Volume 1, 1807-1907.
This is an issue that has been upsetting people for a long time. Possible syncretism between American Judaism and Unitarianism arose first in the late 19th century. Some reforming rabbis believed that given what seemed like friendly Unitarian interest in Judaism, some of them might be attracted to a universalized form of Judaism. Solomon Sonneschein, a Reform rabbi in St. Louis, who believed that Judaism was, in its essence, a universal religion thought that Judaism and Unitarianism might be able to merge. In 1881, however, he announced that Unitarians were still too limited by prejudice to be able to accept Jews as equals or to consider adherence to a Jewishly identified faith.
In 1886, after an acrimonious departure from his St. Louis congregation, Sonneschein visited Boston where he met with two leading Unitarian ministers and spoke in a local Unitarian church. Back in St. Louis, the congregation considered rehiring Sonneschein but had to look into his seeming apostasy. Questioned by his congregation, he declared that his Boston discussions were meant Ì¢âÂåto ascertain how far I, as a Hebrew theologian, could conscientiously go for the advancement of that sacred cause which both the advanced American Jew and advanced American Christian have in common without losing the integrity and identity of my Hebrew affiliations of birth and conviction.Ì¢âÂå The scandal over SonnescheinÌ¢âÂã¢s behavior and beliefs roiled the St. Louis Jewish community for many years and brought forth a general denunciation of Sonneschein by his rabbinical colleagues. Then as now, many Jews feel quite uncomfortable when someone suggests that there may not be clear boundaries between their faith and those associated with other religious traditions.
Sonneschein, by the way, was the husband of Rosa Sonneschein, beloved at the Jewish WomenÌ¢âÂã¢s Archive, as the creator and editor of the American Jewess, the first English-language periodical for and by Jewish women, which is accessible and searchable on JWAÌ¢âÂã¢s website. Her pioneering entry into publishing came after a highly publicized and difficult divorce from her Unitarian-leaning husband, though it probably had more to do with personal issues on both sides than with his religious inclinations.
Sources: Eric Goldstein, The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity and Walter Ehrlich, Zion in the Valley: The Jewish Community of St. Louis, Volume 1, 1807-1907.