CCAR RESPONSA
New American Reform Responsa
51. A Unitarian Church Building Used as a Synagogue*
QUESTION: May a congregation permanently share facilities with a Unitarian Church? The structure contains no Christian symbols and, in fact, is called “Hall of Worship” by the Unitarians. (Rabbi Joel S. Goor, New York NY)ANSWER: Various aspects of this question have been treated in the responsum “Ark and Torah Permanently in a Christian Church” (W. Jacob Contemporary American Reform Responsa #148). That responsum indicates that Christians are considered as monotheist and cited a number of instances from the past in which the use of Christian or Muslim facilities has taken place under emergency conditions. The responsum also mentioned various instances in which facilities were used in common, as for example the Greenwich Village Synagogue in New York City and most military chapels in the United States Armed Forces. Despite that, the responsum came to the conclusion that a Torah and ark should not be placed permanently in a church setting and that the congregation should be encouraged to build its own quarters. There would be even stronger reasons for advising that the congregation move in this direction in this instance. The Unitarian Church stands at the very edge of Christianity and many Orthodox and fundamental Christians do not consider it a Christian body at all. That seems to also have been the perception of some Jewish families who have sought religion akin to Christianity, but without the creedal demands of Christian churches. As a result, most Unitarian churches have some members who were formerly Jewish. Although this poses no real threat to us, we also do not want to encourage confusion along those lines. In addition, we are engaged in a broad effort to limit the number of mixed marriages; therefore, anything which leads to syncretism or unusually close religious ties with Christians should be discouraged. We are grateful for the good relationships between Christians and Jews which exist and intend to continue to foster them, both on the rabbinic and lay level. We primarily wish to maintain our identity and to strengthen Judaism. The common sharing of a building and all of the casual relationships which develop is not a practice that we would encourage on a permanent basis. We would, therefore, urge the congregation to consider permanent quarters of its own or to rent a space which has no Christian religious overtones.September 1990
If needed, please consult Abbreviations used in CCAR Responsa.