Judaism in Transition
How Economic Choices Shape Religious Tradition
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- $31.99
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- $31.99
Publisher Description
At the core of Judaism stands a body of traditions that have remained consistent over millennia. Yet, the practice of these rituals has varied widely across historical and cultural contexts. In Judaism in Transition, Carmel U. Chiswick draws on her Jewish upbringing, her journey as a Jewish parent, and her perspective as an economist to consider how incentives affect the ways that mainstream American Jews have navigated and continue to manage the conflicting demands of everyday life and religious observance. Arguing that economics is a blind spot in our understanding of religion, Chiswick blends her personal experiences with economic analysis to illustrate the cost of Jewish participation—financially and, more importantly, in terms of time and effort.
The history of American Jews is almost always told as a success story in the secular world. Chiswick recasts this story as one of innovation in order to maintain a distinctive Jewish culture while keeping pace with the steady march of American life. She shows how tradeoffs, often made on an individual and deeply personal level, produce the brand of Judaism which predominates in America today. Along the way, Chiswick explores salient and controversial topics—from intermarriage to immigration and from egalitarianism to connections with Israel.
At once a portrait of American Jewish culture and a work that outlines how economic decisions affect religion, Judaism in Transition shows how changes in our economic environment will affect the Jewish community for decades to come.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jewish experiences for 3,000 years have largely been a chronicle of catastrophe and calamity, analyzed by theologians, rabbis, historians, social scientists, philosophers and social workers. Chiswick brings the unusual perspective of an economist, spiced by her own life experiences as a professor at George Washington University who is married to an economist, mother of two sons, and a Conservative Jew. Writing clearly, she divides her presentation into four parts: economic circumstances of American Jews; usefulness of economic concepts; economic decisions affecting American Jewish behavior; economic analysis and the American Jewish future. Her concluding chapter explores how her examination sheds light on possible changes in American Judaism. She predicts more intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews, resulting in a decreased American Jewish population. She also foresees a larger cohort of older Jews and more income inequality. She offers other intriguing forecasts about American Judaism, concluding that we can be optimistic about its future. Her singular approach as an economist can be usefully applied to other American religious groups.