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This piling on about reform Jews is painting too broad a brush.

My feelings about Reform Judaism long predate my participation in FR. Regarding "piling on," I cannot help the fact that others feel the same way.

Reform Judaism is not a religion. It is an attempt to sanctify the platform of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. They follow the Democratic platform rather than the Torah.

For example, they did not become pro-abortion until the Democratic Party became pro-abortion. When the Democrats were pushing gun control, they pushed gun control. When the Democrats de-emphasized gun control, so did they.

When the Democrats became feminist, Reform Judaism became feminist. And on and on. The only "morality" they recognize is liberalism.

I understand your point of view. I of course have no particular expertise. All I can relate too, is the anecdotal evidence of one person I know very well, and is a close friend. In addition, there is a lawyer in my office who is a reform Jew, and basically totally secular (it is a cultural and family thing), and a political moderate, not a liberal, and frankly, not very political at all, unlike myself. I also might mention a structural engineer that I am working with on a retrofitting of one of my apartment buildings, who is a very serious Orthodox Jew, who thinks Bush is an idiot, and should be impeached. I kid him about all the religious holidays he takes (there seem to be dozens), and suggest he is a malingerer. He responds, that going to temple for 8 straight hours, and every morning, is much harder work, and of course, I would certainly agree. And so it goes. :)