The Future of Judaism in America

Description

This book explores the state of the American Jewish world in the early 21st century, after decades of accelerating change that has transformed it and all other religious groups in the United States. It reveals a community in an unparalleled state of flux grappling with a society in which religious identity is more and more considered an individual choice, rather than an inheritance, and where fewer adults feel impelled to identify with any religious tradition at all.  In chapters written by leading experts, the book examines the community’s evolving demographics, the direction of the principal denominational movements, contemporary religious trends, interactions with other American religious communities and engagements in the country’s secular politics. This text uniquely covers all these aspects of Judaism in America making it appealing to students and researchers in such fields as the sociology of religion, Judaism, and American history. Series Editors’ Introduction: The Future of Religion in America Acknowledgments Contents About the Editors Introduction: Judaism Is Now A Choice The American Context The American Jewish Communal Agenda Plan of the Book The Future of American Jewish Denominations Jewish Denominationalism Denominations Under Stress The Non-Orthodox Converge Will They Unite? The Orthodox Survive, Thrive, and Diverge Toward the Future Perspectives from Demography and Geography Data Sources Demographic Profile of the Jewish Population The Nature of Jewish Identity The Numbers of American Jews Geographic Profile of the Jewish Population The Changing Geographic Distribution of American Jews Migration and the Maintenance of American Jewish Religion Jewish Connectivity and the Future of American Jewish Religion Temporal Variations in National Studies Geographic Variations in Jewish Connectivity Temporal Variations in Local Communities Political, Economic, and Psychological Impacts The Growth of Jewish Institutions Conclusion Renewal The Destabilization of Jewish Ethnicity in America Renewing Judaism The Jewish Women’s Movement What Reb Zalman Had to Teach Renewing Judaism Women’s Active Partnership in Revitalizing American Judaism Trajectories of Transformation Jewish Education for Girls and Women Women as Halakhic Authorities, Rabbis, and Judaic Studies Scholars Changing Orthodox Norms Regarding Women’s Religious Expression Gendered Lens Adding New Dimensions to Sacred Study and Experience Jewish Women’s Cultural Expressions Women’s Full Participation in Independent Minyanim Many Women’s Roles in Orthodox Partnership Minyanim Jewish Women’s Feminist Organizations Conclusion: Jewish Religion and Spirituality in Women’s Lives and Communities Jewish Political Involvement The Jewish Political Spectrum The Jewish Vote Jewish Politicians Jewish Political Activism Organizational Political Activity Individual Political Activity Conclusion American Jews, Judaism and Other Faith Communities American Jewish Interfaith Relations Before 1960 The Flowering of Interfaith Relations: 1960–2000 Interfaith Relations in the Early Years of the Twenty-First Century The Trajectory of Future Interfaith Relation Conclusion: Out of Their Comfort Zone Index