Sources

The Pittsburgh Platform

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "The Pittsburgh Platform." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-pittsburgh-platform.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Pittsburgh Platform. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-pittsburgh-platform

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-the-pittsburgh-platform,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {The Pittsburgh Platform},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-pittsburgh-platform},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The Pittsburgh Platform is Reform Judaism's own primary statement of principles, adopted in 1885 by an assembly of American rabbis who would go on to found the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and this record holds it as a custodian source for exactly that reason: it is the movement's own foundational declaration of what it believed at that moment, not an outside description of Reform Judaism. It is authoritative for what nineteenth century American Reform Judaism stated about itself at its classical, most assimilationist stage, checkable directly against the platform's own eight planks, not for how later Reform statements, the 1937 Columbus Platform among them, revised or reversed specific positions taken here. Use it to establish what Reform Judaism said of itself in 1885; a claim about Reform Judaism's current position needs a current statement instead.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

The Pittsburgh Platform of 1885, the classical statement of nineteenth century American Reform Judaism, issued by the gathering that became the Central Conference of American Rabbis; a movement's own foundational primary declaration.

Notes

The classical statement of nineteenth-century American Reform Judaism.

Citation

Author

Central Conference of American Rabbis (predecessor gathering)

Publication Year

1885

URL

https://www.ccarnet.org/rabbinic-voice/platforms/article-declaration-principles/

Source Type

primary-text

Custodian

Custodian Source

Yes

Custodian Body

Central Conference of American Rabbis (predecessor gathering)

Custodian Basis

A platform adopted by an assembly of rabbis defining their own movement. Authoritative for what Reform Judaism said about itself in 1885.

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Pittsburgh

This source names Pittsburgh directly: "The Pittsburgh Platform is Reform Judaism's own primary statement of principles, adopted in 1885 by an assembly of American rabbis who would go on to found the Central Conference of American Rabbis..."

Source The Pittsburgh PlatformCentral Conference of American Rabbis (predecessor gathering)the holders' own account

Claims Backed By This Source (59 claims)

This source backs 59 claims across the atlas. As facts: 20 well-attested. As cited relationships: 10 holds, 4 critiqued Here, 5 rejected Here, 2 held Differently. Plus 18 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Practices, 11 claims: 1 well-attested, 2 holds, 3 critiqued Here, 5 general references.
Sources, 11 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 holds.
Denominations, 10 claims: 1 holds, 4 rejected Here, 2 held Differently, 3 general references.
Doctrines, 8 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 critiqued Here, 1 rejected Here, 4 general references.
Scriptures & Texts, 6 claims: 3 holds, 3 general references.
Councils and Synods, 5 claims: 4 well-attested, 1 general references.
Articles, 3 claims: 3 well-attested.
Cities, 3 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Prayers, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.