Sherwin Wine was born in Detroit , Michigan on January 25, 1928. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan (A.B., A.M.) and the Hebrew Union College. In 1963 he founded The Birmingham Temple in suburban Detroit , the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism.
In 1969 he helped establish the Society for Humanistic Judaism to serve as the national outreach vehicle for the humanistic movement. In 1986 he helped to create the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews, a worldwide association of national organizations in North America, Israel, Belgium, England, France, Italy, Australia, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Wine is the Dean of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in North America.
Wine has been instrumental in organizing the Leadership Conference of Secular and Humanistic Jews, the Center for New Thinking, the North American Committee for Humanism, the Humanist Institute, and the Conference of Liberal Religion.
He is also the author of "Humanistic Judaism", "Judaism Beyond God", "Celebration", and "Staying Sane In A Crazy World". In addition, he is a principal contributor to Judaism in a Secular Age: An Anthology of Secular Humanistic Jewish Thought.
1928-2007