Inherent in the scholarly approach to the study of Jewish identities, lifestyles, and beliefs—as with the scholarly approach to any phenomena—is the author’s attempt to be dispassionate, i.e., to view the subject matter as objectively as possible in the search for the truth, or at least the most plausible explanation or interpretation of an event or situation investigated.

This scientific approach—which tempers the human desire to ignore, alter, or overemphasize data or viewpoints solely to “make a case”—is especially important in the study of both religion per se and religiously-related subject matter—such as the “spirit,” “soul,” “Creator,” and “hereafter”—where emotions often prevail among adherents of a particular denomination, way of life, or belief system.

Indeed, it is safe to say that the vast amount of published work by adherents of Judaism is fueled by the spiritual fervor of the authors. Their enthusiasm, and often love of the Jewish religion and people, pervades the sacred texts and books, articles, and poems that compose the literary corpus of Judaism. In this regard, writings about Jews and Judaism are not unique, of course. The same can be said about the literature written by proponents of any religion, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Muslimism.

While such literature undoubtedly satisfies the emotional needs of longtime religious adherents, new converts, and “seekers” in need of sudden solace, it is not intended to satisfy any needs they may have for impartial analyses of religion; and, of course, this literature largely or totally fails to satisfy the intellectual needs of both scholars involved with the study of religion and individuals outside of academia who hardly, if at all, observe religious practices, hold religious beliefs, or have a religious identity.

Until now, those who have sought dispassionate analyses and empirical studies about Jewish subject matter have had to rely almost exclusively on a relative handful of academic journals, out of the thousands of such journals published each year. Our search on the major academic databases for English-language journals since 1990 showed less than one-thousand articles on Jewish identities, lifestyles, and beliefs! And about two-thirds of these were written by authors in countries other than America, especially Israel, Britain and Australia. The number of books in print with a scientific approach to this subject matter is much smaller; and of these, almost every one has been written by one or a few authors, who necessarily convey a limited viewpoint.

This book therefore fills an important void in the Jewish literature, by presenting in one convenient volume twenty-four authoritative studies on Jewish identities, lifestyles, and beliefs, by thirty-one leading thinkers from diverse scientific disciplines. Collectively, they dispel stereotypes about Jewish men and women, by revealing the wide range of cognitive, affective, and behavioral differences among Jews with respect to sex and sexuality; marriage, intermarriage, and divorce; childbirth; religious practices; the Torah and other sacred texts; Jewish and African-American relations; mental and physical illness; Zionism, Israel and Palestine; body image and eating behaviors; and death, suicide, and euthanasia, among many other topics central to Jewish life.

The facts, perspectives and insights contained in Essential Readings On Jewish Identities, Lifestyles & Beliefs make this book a vital resource not only for Jews and students of Judaism, but for all individuals concerned about issues involving identity, assimilation, acculturation, conflict, and discrimination among members of minority groups in multicultural societies.


Richard Altschuler
May 2003