Jewish secularism

The term Jewish secularism is understood to mean a Jewish attitude in which Jews accept specific Jewish values ​​but do not practice Judaism as a religion. The people assigned to Jewish secularism therefore describe themselves as non-religious, but identify themselves ethnically , ethically , culturally or politically as Jews. Secular Jews see themselves as an integral part of the Jewish people and their history and culture. A central idea is the conviction that humans have an influence on world events and, according to the prophets, a just world cannot be achieved without human action. Life therefore revolves around human activity and ideals, with actions being more important than words.

development

Origins

According to Saul L. Goodman, this arises as an attempt " to combine the prevailing ideas of modern Western culture with the historical legacy of Judaism".

As early as the Renaissance and the Enlightenment , Jews turned away from the religious aspects of traditional Judaism, but without fully assimilating into other societies or practicing another religion. Baruch de Spinoza is considered to be one of the first known representatives of Jewish secularism; later the Haskala was of great importance for its development. The idea arose that Jewish identity was not based on religion alone. The Maskilim strived for a separation of religion and state and a stronger identification with the (Christian) majority societies.

Currents

The secular conviction that the fulfillment of Jewish ideals can only be achieved with the help of human action and not solely through divine intervention is reflected in Zionism : The Jewish homeland must be actively fought for, in contrast to the strictly orthodox view that this can only be achieved through the Return of the Messiah to be achieved. The question raised by secularization of what, apart from or instead of religion, is the unifying element of the Jewish people in the Diaspora , was answered by Zionism with the idea of ​​a Jewish nation.

Another trend was that of nationalism in the Diaspora (cf. Jewish Autonomism ), as represented by the General Jewish Workers' Union . The life of the Jewish working class should be organized around Jewish culture.

In the United States, on the other hand, the Jewish communities tended (for various reasons) mostly towards cultural assimilation. This changed due to massive Jewish immigration at the beginning of the 20th century, through which Yiddish experienced an upswing as an element of identification, and numerous political, cultural and social Jewish organizations were formed.

Important representatives

• Politicians: Achad Ha'am , Simon Dubnow , Chaim Schitlowsky
• Literature: Micha Josef Berdyczewski , Chaim Nachman Bialik , Josef Chaim Brenner

See also

• Humanistic Judaism

literature

• David Biale: Not in the heavens. The Tradition of Jewish Secular Thought . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2011, ISBN 978-0-691-14723-9 .
• Saul Goodman: The Faith of Secular Jews. Ktav, New York 1976.
• Heinrich Chaim Olmer: “Who is a Jew?” A contribution to the discussion about securing the future of the Jewish community. Ergon-Verlag, Würzburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-89913-821-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Jacob Neusner : An introduction to Judaism. A textbook and reader. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky. 1991, ISBN 0-664-25348-2 , p. 406.
2. ↑ Phyllis G. Jestice (Ed.): Holy People of the World. A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2004, p. 454.
3. ^ ^{A b} Paul G. Shane: Philosophical Roots of Secular Judaism. In: The Philadelphia Jewish Voice. No. 18, 12/2006.
4. ^ Saul L. Goodman: The Faith of Secular Jews. Ktav, New York 1976. Based on: Paul G. Shane: Philosophical Roots of Secular Judaism . In: The Philadelphia Jewish Voice. No. 18, 12/2006.
5. ↑ ^{a b c d} Seth Kulick: The evolution of secular Judaism. In: The Humanist. Tape. 53, No. 2, 1993.