Congregation Beth Adam is a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

located in Loveland,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Beth Adam gives voice to Judaism with a humanistic perspective. The congregation was founded by

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Robert B. Barr in 1980. Beth Adam's mission is to be a "unique community integrating Jewish tradition and humanistic principles." Its vision - to be "a spiritual home, a meaningful voice, and a humanistic resource for people worldwide, seeking a contemporary Jewish identity and experience." The congregation made history when it applied for membership into the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) (now the Union of Reform Judaism RJ but was not accepted. Beth Adam's application challenged the Reform movement to determine if it was willing to embrace a wide spectrum of belief. As Rabbi Alan Kaplan, then head of the union's New Congregations Committee, the decision will be "a watershed in the history of the Reform movement". Congregation Beth Adam's building, located on Loveland-Madeira Road, was dedicated on September 7, 2001. The synagogue is unique in that it fully incorporates science into its religious space. In the sanctuary, the 12 stained-glass windows depict the Big Bang, evolution of life on earth, and science. The Eternal Light (Ner Tamid) that is over the ark which holds the Torah is a double helix representing DNA. Congregation Beth Adam launched its online initiative OurJewishCommunity.org. This was one of the first online Jewish congregations in the nation. As technology has changed, OurJewishCommunity.org has been fully integrated into Beth Adam's primary website. Both Beth Adam and OurJewishCommunity continue to operate Facebook pages to serve those in greater Cincinnati and those outside the community. Congregation Beth Adam launched Our Village, a revolutionary approach to youth education. The program has been redesigned to provide experiential learning opportunities rather than the traditional mode of religious education.

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* Synagogues in Cincinnati Jews and Judaism in Cincinnati Humanistic synagogues in the United States {{Ohio-religious-struct-stub