“A system that was designed to be more fair didn’t seem to be that way because we had people with very similar uses of the temple, and very similar means, paying very dissimilar amounts,” said Emanu-El’s executive director, David Goldman. Mr. Goldman said the sense of transparency, fairness and stability returned when madatory dues were restored. However, he acknowledged, “I can’t believe anyone thinks that x years from now, a dues model is the wave of the future — it doesn’t seem like a very modern concept, and we discuss alternative structures all the time.” But most of the congregations that have moved to voluntary pledging say it has been a success. On average, according to the UJA-Federation report, they have reported a 4 percent growth in both members and revenues, even as many congregations are declining on both fronts.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, which represents 862 Reform congregations, said voluntary pledging is appealing not just for financial reasons, but also because it can shift the way synagogues are perceived.

“The bond that holds the Jewish people to one another is not primarily and fundamentally a financial arrangement, and when we suggest that it might be, it undermines everything we stand for,” he said.

He also noted that with an increasing number of interfaith families joining Reform congregations, mandatory dues had become harder to explain.

“If you come from a church background, the idea that there’s a dues bill that comes in the mail, telling you what your obligation is to a faith community — it’s very odd, and off-putting, and it doesn’t agree with core religious teachings,” he said.

Churches depend heavily on voluntary contributions collected at worship services. But Judaism forbids the handling of money on the Sabbath, so synagogues do not seek donations during worship, and must find other ways to pay clergy and staff salaries and fund their buildings and programs.