Overview

Jews and the American Religious Landscape explores major complementary facets of American Judaism and Jewish life through a comprehensive analysis of contemporary demographic and sociological data. Focusing on the most important aspects of social development-geographic location, socioeconomic stratification, family dynamics, group identification, and political orientation-the volume adds empirical value to questions concerning the strengths of Jews as a religious and cultural group in America and the strategies they have developed to integrate successfully into a Christian society. With advanced analyses of data gathered by the Pew Research Center, Jews and the American Religious Landscape shows that Jews, like other religious and ethnic minorities, strongly identify with their religion and culture. Yet their particular religiosity, along with such factors as population dispersion, professional networks, and education, have created different outcomes in various contexts. Living under the influence of a Christian majority and a liberal political system has also cultivated a distinct ethos of solidarity and egalitarianism, enabling Judaism to absorb new patterns in ways that mirror its integration into American life. Rich in information thoughtfully construed, this book presents a remarkable portrait of what it means to be an American Jew today.

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9780231178266

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Reviews

Rebhun has produced a pioneering study that provides an in-depth comparative analysis of the sociopolitical and religious patterns of America's Jews and is a major contribution to our understanding of the place of Jews in America's religious landscape. -- Chaim I. Waxman, Rutgers University and the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, author of American Aliya: Portrait of an Innovative Migration Movement Jews and the American Religious Landscape is an ambitious study of American Judaism in relation to the other religious traditions currently developing within the United States. It identifies American Judaism in terms of social class composition, demographic dynamics, educational attainment, religious versus ethnic adherence, native-born versus immigrant composition, religious practices, and voter choice in U.S. presidential elections. Rebhun's effort is masterful, and readers will both enjoy the work and be enlightened by its unique ability to combine structural analysis with cultural analysis. This book will be regarded as a landmark study of religion and politics in the United States. -- Thomas A. Hirschl, Cornell University, coauthor or Chasing the American Dream: Understanding What Shapes Our Fortunes Uzi Rebhun's elegant comparative study of Jews and the American Religious Landscape deftly situates American Jews in multiple, overlapping contexts that yield fascinating results. Whether he is examining demography, religiosity, politics, or education, Rebhun's multivariate analysis disrupts accepted wisdom and points to the enormous value of comparison when trying to understand American Jews. -- Deborah Dash Moore, author of Urban Origins of American Jews Highly recommended. Choice

Rebhun has produced a pioneering study that provides an in-depth comparative analysis of the socio-political and religious patterns of America's Jews, and is a major contribution to our understanding of the place of Jews in America's religious landscape. -- Chaim I. Waxman, Rutgers University and the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute Professor Rebhun's Jews and the American Religious Landscape is an ambitious study of American Judaism in relation to the other religious traditions currently developing within the United States. It identifies American Judaism in terms of social class composition, demographic dynamics, educational attainment, religious versus ethnic adherence, native born versus immigrant composition, religious practices, and voter choice in U.S. Presidential elections. Using a 2007 Pew Foundation survey, it defines Judaism along with other U.S. religions using a common analytical framework. Professor Rebhun's effort is masterful, and readers will both enjoy the work and be enlightened by its unique ability to combine structural analysis with cultural analysis. I anticipate that the book will become regarded as a landmark study of religion and politics in the United States. College faculty will find the book appropriate for religious studies curriculum as well as for social science curriculum. -- Thomas A. Hirschl, Cornell University

Author Information

Uzi Rebhun is an associate professor of the demography of the Jewish people and holds the Shlomo Argov Chair in Israel-Diaspora Relations at the A. Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is also a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. His most recent works include American Israelis: Migration, Transnationalism, and Diasporic Identity (with L. Lev Ari, 2010), The Wandering Jew in America (2011), and edited volumes The Social Scientific Study of Jewry: Sources, Approaches, Debates (2014) and Research in Jewish Demography and Identity (with E. Lederhendler, 2015).

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