The New American Judaism: How Jews Practice Their Religion Today (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780691202518)

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish Studies--an engaging firsthand portrait of American Judaism today

American Judaism has been buffeted by massive social upheavals in recent decades. Like other religions in the United States, it has witnessed a decline in the number of participants over the past forty years, and many who remain active struggle to reconcile their hallowed traditions with new perspectives--from feminism and the LGBTQ movement to "do-it-yourself religion" and personally defined spirituality. Taking a fresh look at American Judaism today, Jack Wertheimer, a leading authority on the subject, sets out to discover how Jews of various orientations practice their religion in this radically altered landscape. Which observances still resonate, and which ones have been given new meaning? What options are available for seekers or those dissatisfied with conventional forms of Judaism? And how are synagogues responding? Offering new and often-surprising answers to these questions, Wertheimer reveals an American Jewish landscape that combines rash disruption and creative reinvention, religious illiteracy and dynamic experimentation.

Author: Jack Wertheimer
ISBN-10: 0691202516
ISBN-13: 9780691202518
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Language: English
Published: 03/31/2020
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.15lbs