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The Sovereign Self: Jewish Identity in Post-Modern America
Publication Date: May 2001
Publisher(s): Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Author(s): Arnold Eisen; Steven M. Cohen
Series: Jerusalem Letter/Viewpoints No. 453
Special Collection: Berman Jewish Policy Archive
Topic: Culture and religion (Cultural heritage and preservation)
Culture and religion (Religion and religious groups)
Keywords: Adulthood; Jewish Continuity; Jewish Identification; Identity Formation
Type: Report
Coverage: United States
Abstract:
The article reports on a series of interviews conducted by the authors to assess the formation of adult Jewish identities through lifelong Jewish journeys. Strongly Jewish childhoods are a very good predictor of actively Jewish adulthoods. The authors conclude that personal journeys and experiences, especially if shared with other family members, are the stuff out of which modern American Jewish identity is constructed and enacted. Today's American Judaism is personal and constructed one experience at a time.