Steven M. Cohen is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Melton Center for Jewish Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is author of American Assimilation or Jewish Revival? (Indiana University Press) and co-author (with Charles Liebman) of Two Worlds of Judaism: The Israeli and American Experiences. Arnold M. Eisen is Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University, a frequent speaker on issues related to contemporary Jewish life before lay and scholarly audiences throughout North America, and an active participant in communal discussions concerning the future of American Judaism. He is the author ofThe Chosen People in America (Indiana University Press), Galut: Modern Jewish Reflection on Homelessness and Homecoming, Taking Hold of Torah: Jewish Commitment and Community in America (Indiana University Press), and winner of a Koret Jewish Book Award.

"Based on quantitative data from national statistical surveys and qualitative data teased out from 45 in-depth interviews, social scientists Cohen and Eisen present the most up-to-date analysis of what being Jewish means to moderately affiliated American Jews, who comprise approximately 50-60 percent of the US Jewish population. The authors conclude that these Jews are engaged in a journey whose guidepost is individual autonomy, whose basic thrust is the quest for a personalized, family-centered, nontheological spirituality, and whose fundamental mode of expression is selective ritual behavior. But the interviewees are inconsistent; notwithstanding their smug, self-satisfied affirmation of total independence, they nevertheless seem desperate to envelop themselves somehow with a sense of Jewish family, past and present, and to link themselves to the tribe. The authors explore both the similarities and discontinuities in Jewish identity between this generation of Jews and those of prior decades, and between the identity formation of these Jews and contemporary US Christians; they ruminate about the implications of these Jewish self-definitions for the Jewish future. Furnishing the survey's questionnaire and the interviewers' personal questions, this book constitutes an intelligent, learned, and engaging start for what is sure to be the next generation of assessments of American Jewish identity. All collections."—B. Kraut, CUNY Queens College , Choice, May 2001"This is an important book. . . It illustrates the fact that ideas and perceptions of American society and indeed, the entire postmodern world have seeped into and been embedded into the feelings and expression of being Jewish in America. I strongly recommend this book for all persons interested in contemporary religion and certainly, for all interested in the present and future of American Jewry. 89.3 2001"—American Jewish History". . . [S]ocial scientists Cohen and Eisen present the most up-to-date analysis of what being Jewish means to moderately affiliated American Jews . . . [T]his book constitutes an intelligent, learned, and engaging start for what is sure to be the next generation of assessments of American Jewish identity. May 2001"—Choice

• Preliminary Table of Contents: Acknowledgments1. Introduction2. The Sovereign Self3. All in the Family4. Ritual Options5. Echoes of Tribalism6. The Retreat of Public Judaism7. God and the Synagogue8. ConclusionAppendix A: The Interview GuideAppendix B: The SurveyBibliographyIndex

Steven M. Cohen is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Melton Center for Jewish Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is author of American Assimilation or Jewish Revival? (Indiana University Press) and co-author (with Charles Liebman) of Two Worlds of Judaism: The Israeli and American Experiences. Arnold M. Eisen is Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University, a frequent speaker on issues related to contemporary Jewish life before lay and scholarly audiences throughout North America, and an active participant in communal discussions concerning the future of American Judaism. He is the author ofThe Chosen People in America (Indiana University Press), Galut: Modern Jewish Reflection on Homelessness and Homecoming, Taking Hold of Torah: Jewish Commitment and Community in America (Indiana University Press), and winner of a Koret Jewish Book Award.

"Based on quantitative data from national statistical surveys and qualitative data teased out from 45 in-depth interviews, social scientists Cohen and Eisen present the most up-to-date analysis of what being Jewish means to moderately affiliated American Jews, who comprise approximately 50-60 percent of the US Jewish population. The authors conclude that these Jews are engaged in a journey whose guidepost is individual autonomy, whose basic thrust is the quest for a personalized, family-centered, nontheological spirituality, and whose fundamental mode of expression is selective ritual behavior. But the interviewees are inconsistent; notwithstanding their smug, self-satisfied affirmation of total independence, they nevertheless seem desperate to envelop themselves somehow with a sense of Jewish family, past and present, and to link themselves to the tribe. The authors explore both the similarities and discontinuities in Jewish identity between this generation of Jews and those of prior decades, and between the identity formation of these Jews and contemporary US Christians; they ruminate about the implications of these Jewish self-definitions for the Jewish future. Furnishing the survey's questionnaire and the interviewers' personal questions, this book constitutes an intelligent, learned, and engaging start for what is sure to be the next generation of assessments of American Jewish identity. All collections."—B. Kraut, CUNY Queens College , Choice, May 2001"This is an important book. . . It illustrates the fact that ideas and perceptions of American society and indeed, the entire postmodern world have seeped into and been embedded into the feelings and expression of being Jewish in America. I strongly recommend this book for all persons interested in contemporary religion and certainly, for all interested in the present and future of American Jewry. 89.3 2001"—American Jewish History". . . [S]ocial scientists Cohen and Eisen present the most up-to-date analysis of what being Jewish means to moderately affiliated American Jews . . . [T]his book constitutes an intelligent, learned, and engaging start for what is sure to be the next generation of assessments of American Jewish identity. May 2001"—Choice

• Preliminary Table of Contents: Acknowledgments1. Introduction2. The Sovereign Self3. All in the Family4. Ritual Options5. Echoes of Tribalism6. The Retreat of Public Judaism7. God and the Synagogue8. ConclusionAppendix A: The Interview GuideAppendix B: The SurveyBibliographyIndex

Steven M. Cohen is Associate Professor of Sociology at the Melton Center for Jewish Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is author of American Assimilation or Jewish Revival? (Indiana University Press) and co-author (with Charles Liebman) of Two Worlds of Judaism: The Israeli and American Experiences. Arnold M. Eisen is Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University, a frequent speaker on issues related to contemporary Jewish life before lay and scholarly audiences throughout North America, and an active participant in communal discussions concerning the future of American Judaism. He is the author ofThe Chosen People in America (Indiana University Press), Galut: Modern Jewish Reflection on Homelessness and Homecoming, Taking Hold of Torah: Jewish Commitment and Community in America (Indiana University Press), and winner of a Koret Jewish Book Award.

"Based on quantitative data from national statistical surveys and qualitative data teased out from 45 in-depth interviews, social scientists Cohen and Eisen present the most up-to-date analysis of what being Jewish means to moderately affiliated American Jews, who comprise approximately 50-60 percent of the US Jewish population. The authors conclude that these Jews are engaged in a journey whose guidepost is individual autonomy, whose basic thrust is the quest for a personalized, family-centered, nontheological spirituality, and whose fundamental mode of expression is selective ritual behavior. But the interviewees are inconsistent; notwithstanding their smug, self-satisfied affirmation of total independence, they nevertheless seem desperate to envelop themselves somehow with a sense of Jewish family, past and present, and to link themselves to the tribe. The authors explore both the similarities and discontinuities in Jewish identity between this generation of Jews and those of prior decades, and between the identity formation of these Jews and contemporary US Christians; they ruminate about the implications of these Jewish self-definitions for the Jewish future. Furnishing the survey's questionnaire and the interviewers' personal questions, this book constitutes an intelligent, learned, and engaging start for what is sure to be the next generation of assessments of American Jewish identity. All collections."—B. Kraut, CUNY Queens College , Choice, May 2001"This is an important book. . . It illustrates the fact that ideas and perceptions of American society and indeed, the entire postmodern world have seeped into and been embedded into the feelings and expression of being Jewish in America. I strongly recommend this book for all persons interested in contemporary religion and certainly, for all interested in the present and future of American Jewry. 89.3 2001"—American Jewish History". . . [S]ocial scientists Cohen and Eisen present the most up-to-date analysis of what being Jewish means to moderately affiliated American Jews . . . [T]his book constitutes an intelligent, learned, and engaging start for what is sure to be the next generation of assessments of American Jewish identity. May 2001"—Choice

• Preliminary Table of Contents: Acknowledgments1. Introduction2. The Sovereign Self3. All in the Family4. Ritual Options5. Echoes of Tribalism6. The Retreat of Public Judaism7. God and the Synagogue8. ConclusionAppendix A: The Interview GuideAppendix B: The SurveyBibliographyIndex