Teaching "Judaism" in America: Religious Education in a Secularized Society


 

Publication Date: December 1996

Publisher: Jewish Agency for Israel

Author(s): Jonathan S. Woocher

Research Area: Culture and religion; Education

Keywords: Jewish Identification; Jewish Continuity; Jewish Education; Values

Type: Brief

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The author asserts that American Jews are a highly secularized group with an ethos of individualized choice. He presents a paradigm for effective educational strategy: Jewish education must start with the learner; must present Judaism as a set of resources for living a good, fulfilling, worthwhile life; and must be anchored in a community that values and makes use of these resources. He provides general guidelines for implementing this strategy in the American Jewish community.