Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Preface; 1 Introduction; 2 The Sociology of Religion and the Study of American Jews; Jewish Commitment and Religious Behavior; The Theoretical Tradition; Beyond Institutions; Religious Ritual; Religious Myth; Religious and Secular; Conclusions; Notes; 3 Religious Extremism; Why Study Religious Extremism; Defining Religious Extremism; Expansion of Religious Law; Social Isolation; Cultural Rejection; The Limits of Religious Extremism; Explaining Religious Moderation; The Rise of Modern Jewish Extremism; The Decline of Religious Moderation; Conclusion; Notes
4 Orthodoxy Faces ModernityNotes; 5 Traditionalists and Transformationists; Quantitative Issues; Qualitative Issues; Methodological and Definitional Issues; Notes; 6 The Quality of Jewish Life; Signs of Erosion; A Second Look at the Concept of Assimilation; The Foundations of the Optimistic Perspective; Notes; 7 Reflections on Social Science and Jewish Public Policy; Notes; Bibliography; Index