The City Congregation is an affiliated community of the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ), which was organized in 1969 and comprises more than thirty secular Jewish communities in the United States and Canada. The first of these congregations was The Birmingham Temple, begun in 1963 by Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of Humanistic Judaism.
The Society's mission is to mobilize people to celebrate Jewish identity and culture in a manner consistent with a humanistic philosophy of life. As the central body for the Humanistic Jewish movement in North America, the Society assists in organizing and supporting congregations and providing a worldwide voice for its members.
SHJ sponsors training programs and conferences for its members. It publishes a quarterly topical journal, Humanistic Judaism, available to its members and by subscription.
The Society for Humanistic Judaism, along with the Congress for Secular
Jewish Organizations and Workmen's Circle, are members of the
International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, with affiliates in
Israel, North and South America, Europe, and Australia.
To learn more about the Society for Humanistic Judaism and to get a list of local affiliates,click here.