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Home > What We Do > Lifecycle Events

Lifecycle Events

Which lifecycle events are celebrated by Secular Humanistic Jews?

All of them!

Despite being non-theistic, secular Jews can still choose to celebrate traditional Jewish lifecycle events as part of their contemporary Jewish experience, such as B Mitzvah and weddings. Rather than being required rites of passage prescribed by a divine being, they are voluntary milestone celebrations that are designed from the ground up to be  both unique and meaningful to the individual AND honoring traditional Jewish culture and values.

Can I have non-Jewish events officiated?

Yes!

Secular Humanistic Jewish ceremonies do NOT need to be exclusively Jewish lifecycle events. As humanistic Jews, we respect that we come from all different walks of life, and therefore hold different things meaningful, and we understand that, in those moments of meaning that are not exclusively Jewish, we do not shed our Jewishness. You are more than welcome to request an officiant to help you imbue your unique Jewish experience into any life event.

Because we are secular, is this form just to request a state-authorized officiant? (Do secular rabbis even exist?)

While Secular Humanistic Jewish lifecycle events are NOT required to be officiated to be valid, Secular Humanistic Jewish officiants DO exist if officiation would be personally meaningful to you. The International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ) is the ONLY accredited school for training Secular Humanistic Jewish officiants in the world. As the Washington chapter of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, SJC has direct connections to IISHJ's full network of ordained officiants worldwide, and can connect you with someone wherever you are, for whatever cycle of life you're looking to have officiated.

Request an officiant

If you'd like to request an officiant for more than one event, please submit one form for each event.

* Please note that you do NOT need to be an SJC member to request an officiant!

* For youth B Mitzvah services, please enroll in our Sunday School's B Mitzvah Program.
This is so we can match you with an officiant in the same area.
We will connect you with a local Secular Humanistic Jewish-owned small business, Maiman Creative.

 

Fri, 17 October 2025