Names of God in Conservative and Reform Judaism
Back again with another.
Background: Setting: New York. Character is Jewish. Right now, I'm leaning for 'middle of the road' Conservative, but am doing more research before settling.
Question: I've been reading up on the names of God in Judaism, which names are used and in what context. I've found many good, clear resources there and don't really need it reiterated. For the most part, I've noticed that Orthodox folks use 'Hashem' in conversation ('The Name'). Wikipedia says 'some Conservative Jews also use it,' and nothing about Reform. Most Reform people I know aren't too observant and say 'God' although they write 'G-d' to avoid accidentally erasing a possible name of God (although the English equivalent doesn't count to some people). My question is, 'what would a less observant person in North America use when talking about God?' Would they simply say 'God' or would they use 'Hashem' the way an Orthodox person might? I know each community/person is going to be different, so I'm looking more for what people would personally use when speaking to another Jew versus, say, a Gentile, and does word choice in that context denote how religious the speaker is?
Research: Wikipedia and Google, with 'names of God in Judaism,' 'Judaism 101' and similar sites.
Background: Setting: New York. Character is Jewish. Right now, I'm leaning for 'middle of the road' Conservative, but am doing more research before settling.
Question: I've been reading up on the names of God in Judaism, which names are used and in what context. I've found many good, clear resources there and don't really need it reiterated. For the most part, I've noticed that Orthodox folks use 'Hashem' in conversation ('The Name'). Wikipedia says 'some Conservative Jews also use it,' and nothing about Reform. Most Reform people I know aren't too observant and say 'God' although they write 'G-d' to avoid accidentally erasing a possible name of God (although the English equivalent doesn't count to some people). My question is, 'what would a less observant person in North America use when talking about God?' Would they simply say 'God' or would they use 'Hashem' the way an Orthodox person might? I know each community/person is going to be different, so I'm looking more for what people would personally use when speaking to another Jew versus, say, a Gentile, and does word choice in that context denote how religious the speaker is?
Research: Wikipedia and Google, with 'names of God in Judaism,' 'Judaism 101' and similar sites.