Contemporary American Judaism
Subtitle: transformation and renewal
By: Dana Evan Kaplan.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 446
ISBN-13: 9780231137287
Subjects: Judaism -- United States -- History -- 20th century; Judaism -- 21st century; Spiritual life -- Judaism; Jews -- United States -- Identity; Jews -- United States -- Social conditions
Description: No longer controlled by a handful of institutional leaders based in remote headquarters and rabbinical seminaries, American Judaism is being transformed by the individual spiritual decisions of tens of thousands of Jews living in all corners of the United States. A pulpit rabbi and American Jew, Kaplan follows this religious individualism from its postwar suburban roots to the hippie revolution of the 1960s and the multiple postmodern identities of today. From Hebrew tattooing to Jewish Buddhist meditation, his book describes the remaking of historical tradition in ways that channel multiple ethnic and national identities.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Foreword / David Ellenson; title: Introduction; title: A historical overview from 1945; title: The reengagement with spirituality; title: The rise and fall of American Jewish denominations; title: Facing the collapse of the intermarriage stigma; title: Inclusivity as a social value; title: Radical responses to the suburban experience; title: The popularization of Jewish mystical outreach; title: Herculean efforts at synagogue renewal; title: Conclusion: the future of Judaism in America; title: Afterword / Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.