The Theology of the Individual in the Thought of Mordecai M. Kaplan

Mordecai Kaplan is famously known for his concept of Judaism as a civilization but it is evident throughout his life that he had a deep preoccupation with the individual and the relation of the individual to the spiritual life of the group. Rather early on he became interested in a Chistian theological ideology known as personalism. This Christian theology held the individual as central to the religious life. Kaplan was interested to the degree that he assigned a central text of personalism to his rabbinical students at the Jewish Theological Seminary. The theology of personalism supplemented Kaplan`s devotion to the thought of Ahad Ha-Am who was the foundation of his system.

In the forties, however his interest in the individual turned from the theological to the humanistic. He read extensively in the psychologists of that era. There was at first Carl Gustav Jung. Kaplan never had much use for Freud but Jung was appealing. He also began to read in the works of Abraham Maslow. Maslow`s pyschology of need fit in very well with Kaplan`s concept of salvation. Kaplan was happy to use Maslow in his theological speculations. But more important than all was Erich Fromm. Fromm is mostly known for his work" Escapte from Freedom ", He was a social pyschologist with a rich Jewish background who wrote much on ethical and theological matters and the intersection of psychology and religion. He also wished to explain the rise of fascism. Kaplan much excited with Fromm`s work proposed that he be brought in as a member of the rabbinic faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Louis Finkelstein opposed this move.