Humanistic Judaism is founded by Rabbi Sherwin Wine (1928–2007) in Birmingham, Michigan in 1963. It represents the furthest secular end of the Jewish denominational spectrum: God is not acknowledged in liturgy or theology; Judaism is understood entirely as a human cultural civilization; holidays and life-cycle events are celebrated for their historical and ethical significance without theological content. The movement’s liturgy replaces prayer with poetry, readings, and music that affirm human dignity and Jewish identity without reference to a divine being. Humanistic Judaism is the smallest of the recognized Jewish denominations, with roughly 40,000 adherents globally, but it articulates most clearly the position that Jewish identity can be fully secular and that ethnic/cultural Judaism requires no theological commitment.