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253 The debate on secularization has been confined largely to Christian contents, and in chapter 10 I extended the discussion to Judaism. I made comparisons between the Jewish and Christian contexts and between Jewish communities, particularly those of the United States and Israel. Privatization of religion has been part of the larger secularization debate, and the focus in chapter 11 on public religion in Israel provides a further comparison with the more privatized religion of American Jews. These differences are taken up in this afterword. American and Israeli Jews attribute different meanings to the term religious Jew. For Israeli Jews the meaning of dati (religious) refers to a Jew whom American Jews call Orthodox: a Jew who makes the Halacha, the system of religious laws, the basis of his or her way of life. Many American Jews believe that there are different ways of being a religious Jew, and the term can be applied to Reform, Conservative, or even nonaffiliated Jews who may observe only a few religious customs. Data from surveys show that the average levels of religious observance are higher in Israel than in the United States, but the differences narrow considerably when the comparisons are confined to Israelis who were born in the West (mainly Europe) or have parents who were born in the West. Similar percentages of American and Ashkenazic Israelis participate in the Passover seder, light Hanukkah candles , and fast on Yom Kippur. With respect to the less popular practices, such as Sabbath observance and separate dishes for milk and meat, the levels of observance are higher in Israel, even when the comparison is confined to the Ashkenazim. The lower levels of religious observance among American Jews are related to their greater emphasis on voluntarism or choice in the observance of religious customs . Charles Liebman and Steven Cohen wrote that among American Jews “personal choice is endowed with spiritual sanctity, and contrary to past tradition it is always considered more virtuous than performing an act out of a sense of obedience to God.”1 American Jews live in a society of religious voluntarism and have adopted the market system of denominations; they are free to choose to affiliate (or not) among the religious options. The emphasis in Israel is on the protection of Jewish interests by centralized institutions, which include an Orthodox establishment. Although Liebman and Cohen exaggerate somewhat in writing that Israel has “no alternative religious formulations to Orthodoxy,”2 the consequence of the almost exclusive state support for the Orthodox is that the Reform and Conservative moveafterword to part 4 04 Part 4.indd 253 9/20/10 10:25 AM 254 afte r w o r d t o pa r t 4 ments are disadvantaged in competing for the allegiance of the consumers of religious services. The choice that a large proportion of Israeli Jews make is expressed in the saying, “The synagogue I do not attend is an Orthodox synagogue.” It is true that there is less legitimacy and institutional support in Israel to choose among religious customs and to interpret them in line with personal needs and interests, but secular Israelis do choose which of the religious holidays to celebrate and how to celebrate them. In other words, the choices made with respect to religious observances in Israel are not so much from among religious options but between a religious (Orthodox) interpretation and secular ones. In addition to voluntarism, Liebman and Cohen characterized the religious life of American Jews in terms of personalism, moralism, and universalism.3 Because it is linked to voluntarism, personalism—giving the choices personal meanings—has less scope in Israel, but Liebman and Cohen point out that elements of personalism are present in the religion of Israelis, even among Orthodox Israelis. The opposite of personalism would be to interpret the tradition without regard to its relevance or meaning for the individual. With respect to moralism and universalism, the contrasts between the religious orientations of American and Israeli Jews are clear. Moralism, by which the religious person is distinguished by ethical behavior rather than by ritual observance, has long been common among American Jews, and even the modern American Orthodox reject an unqualified ritualism. Religious Israelis emphasize ritual and religious law, and secular Israelis are likely to consider ethical behavior a sign of a good person, a universalistic notion differentiated from religion. Whereas universalism, the reformulation of Jewish religious customs and rituals to infuse them with meanings for all humanity, is common among American Jews, religious...

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