Claude Montefiore, Lily Montagu and the Origins of the Jewish Religious Union*

Abstract

Numerous religious difficulties afflicted Anglo Jewry at the turn of the century. Fewer and fewer individuals were attending services regularly. Intel? lectuals openly doubted God's existence. The chal? lenges of Higher Criticism of the Bible seemingly undermined the authenticity and originality of Judaism as a religious system. These problems were by no means unique to Judaism, for Christianity, too, witnessed a serious decline in the number of worshippers and in the degree of commitment, and Higher Criticism posed as grave a threat to the integrity of the New Testament as it did to the Old Testament. In this setting a number of Jewish intellectuals and communal leaders resolved to stem the tide of growing religious apathy. Generally upper-class British Jews, they agonized over the future of Judaism among the Anglo-Jewish gentry. Convinced that only drastic measures could save their cause, they prepared themselves for a torrent of criticism and abuse. On 18 October 1902, Claude Montefiore, Lily Montagu, and others with similar concerns, con? vened the first services of the Jewish Religious Union. To many, the services represented the contrary of the preservation of Judaism. Yet, to its founders, the Union represented an effort to estab? lish a religious Jewish identity and prevent further attrition of the religious community.1 To compre? hend this new phenomenon and the schism it subsequently engendered within the community, we ought to glance at the general religious situation in Britain at the turn of the century. Contemporary observers commented widely on the decline of religious faith among Englishmen of all denomina? tions. The number of churchgoers declined mar? kedly, while fewer and fewer openly proclaimed acceptance of revealed religion.2 Among Jewry this problem assumed wider parameters. A religious census conducted by the Daily News revealed that only 25% attended synagogue even on a day as religiously significant as the first day of Passover. In the East End of London 50% attended services. Yet,