Jewish religious movements

Jewish religious movements, sometimes called "denominations", include different groups within Judaism which have developed among Jews from ancient times. Today, the most prominent divisions are between traditionalist Orthodox movements (including Haredi ultratraditionalist and Modern Orthodox branches) and modernist movements such as Conservative (Masorti), Reform Judaism, and smaller others. Judaism in Israel, as in the West, is also divided into major Orthodox, Conservative and Reform traditions. At the same time, for statistical and practical purposes, a different division of society is used there on the basis of a person's attitude to religion. Most Jewish Israelis classify themselves as "secular" (hiloni), "traditional" (masorti), "religious" (dati) or ultra-religious (haredi). The movements differ in their views on various issues. These issues include the level of observance, the methodology for interpreting and understanding Jewish law, biblical authorship, textual criticism, and the nature or role of the messiah (or messianic age). Across these movements, there are marked differences in liturgy, especially in the language in which services are conducted, with the more traditional movements emphasizing Hebrew. The sharpest theological division occurs between traditional Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews who adhere to other denominations, such that the non-Orthodox movements are sometimes referred to collectively as the "liberal denominations" or "progressive streams". Judaism is an ethnic religion, which did not prevent it from including other ethnic movements, like the Ethiopian Jews, and excluding from its composition certain movements of ethnic Jews, for example, the ancient Messianic Jews. Some Jews reject the term denomination as a label for different groups and ideologies within Judaism, arguing that the notion of denomination has a specifically Christian resonance that does not translate easily into the Jewish context. However, in recent years the American Jewish Year Book has adopted "denomination", as have many scholars and theologians.