Economics Of American Judaism

Book Summary

Recent developments in the application of economic theory to the analysis of religion have provided important insights into hitherto-neglected economic aspects of religious behavior and the structure of religious communities. This book on the economics of Judaism fills a blind spot in the social scientific study of Jews in America. The sociological literature and conventional wisdom both agree on the centrality of economic experience to Jewish life, as it is to any group. Economic topics such as income, immigration, education, occupational structure and mobility, asset accumulation and changes in family structure are central features of the American Jewish experience about which economics has much to say, yet until now, there has been no general treatment of these subjects incorporating economic analysis. The book rectifies this omission. This book collects in one readily-accessible volume the pioneering research of Carmel U. Chiswick on the Economics of American Judaism. Filling a major gap in the social-scientific literature, Chiswicka (TM)s economic perspective complements that of other social scientists and historians. She demonstrates clearly that economic analysis can deepen our understanding of the historical experience of American Jewry and provide insights into its current situation. The author applies the methodology of modern labor economics to examine how America's unique economic environment in the twentieth century provided a context for the ancient Jewish religion to adapt to new circumstances. The development of distinctively American synagogue movements is linked to the economic assimilation of American Jews and their rapidly rising levels of education, social assimilation, and changing family structure. The economic perspective gives a fresh insight into questions of the long-run viability of Judaism in America. In a final section, economic analysis is applied in a novel way to highlight the symbiotic relationship between American and Israeli Judaism.

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