My goal is to determine the purpose and direction of contemporary Reform religious schools in the United States and Canada. It is important, therefore, that as a first step towards reaching that goal, there be an understanding of the principles of Reform Judaism. It is my aim, therefore, to examine the main elements of the philosophical, theological and educational literature dealing with Reform Judaism, which was published during the years 1937 through 1970. I should like, also, to ascertain the attitudes and practices of the rabbis, principals, and teachers in the Reform religious schools in the United States and Canada, in order to determine their "working philosophy" which, in effect, is the 11working philosophy 11 of the schools in the Reform Movement. In addition, I should like to know the attitudes of a sample leadership group within the Reform Movement regarding desirable goals in Reform Jewish education. These will be compared with the views expressed by the rabbis, principals and teachers as well as those voiced by Reform Jewish spokesmen in the examined literature. Finally, my purpose is to compare the "working philosophy" of Reform religious schools with the principles of Reform Judaism as expounded by spokesmen of the movement, past and present.