Center for Cultural Judaism
Encyclopedia
The establishment of The Center for Cultural Judaism in New York in 2003 is the first major organizational change on the American Jewish scene in reaction to emerging new insights into American Jewish demography, as cited in the American Jewish Identity Survey (AJIS 2001). Salient among those insights is the emergence of a very large population of Jews – and for many their non-Jewish spouses as well – who do not find meaning in Judaism as a religion, but for whom Judaism as a culture is meaningful. The Center for Cultural Judaism focuses its work on implementing educational and outreach programs designed to reach this large, underserved population.
Over thirty institutions in North America and Europe are associated with the Posen Project for the study of secular Jewish history and cultures. New institutions joining the project recently include Brandeis University
, Goucher College
, Harvard University
, Lehigh University
, Rice University
, Sorbonne - School of Graduate Studies, University College London
, University of Kansas
, and University of Wroclaw.
Similar programs are underway in Israel at the University of Haifa
, Tel Aviv University
, Ofakim Teachers' Program at Tel Aviv University, the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and the Open University
, among others.
, Ilan Stavans
, and A.B. Yehoshua; the former U.S. Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky
; and a host of well-known writers and thinkers.
Contemplate is published annually by the Center for Cultural Judaism.
The Internet site also connects those in search of like-minded people with a Jewish community that supports their beliefs as well as providing cultural Jewish celebrations, services, and rites of passage to help engage non-religious, secular, cultural, and Humanistic Jews in Jewish life.
Posen Project
The Center for Cultural Judaism invites grant applications for the Posen Project for the Study of secular Jewish history and cultures. These grants are intended to cultivate and support the interdisciplinary study of secular Jewish history and cultures within already well-established university programs and departments of Jewish Studies, History, Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology or other related disciplines. Grants will be awarded to support the teaching of two to four courses per year in the origin, history, development, texts, philosophy, writings and practices of Jewish secularism. For further information visit the Posen Foundation website.Over thirty institutions in North America and Europe are associated with the Posen Project for the study of secular Jewish history and cultures. New institutions joining the project recently include Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, Goucher College
Goucher College
Goucher College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts college located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, on a 287 acre campus. The school has approximately 1,475 undergraduate students studying in 31 majors and six interdisciplinary...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
, Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
, Sorbonne - School of Graduate Studies, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, and University of Wroclaw.
Similar programs are underway in Israel at the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
, Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, Ofakim Teachers' Program at Tel Aviv University, the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
, among others.
Secular Culture & Ideas
This innovative journal explores the many ways secular Jews connect to our heritage — through Jewish art, history, languages, literature, philosophy, foodways, folklore, and politics. Regularly updated, Secular Culture & Ideas offers a range of articles on subjects including Roots of Jewish Secularism, Secular Thinkers, Holidays and Life-Cycle, as well as past issues and a blog, Secular News & Notes.Contemplate
Since its debut in 2001, Contemplate: The International Journal of Cultural Jewish Thought has published three volumes of essays, articles, and poetry about secular Jewish culture and progressive Jewish politics. A hybrid of literary and scholarly writing, its contributors have included Amos OzAmos Oz
Amos Oz is an Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist. He is also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva....
, Ilan Stavans
Ilan Stavans
Ilan Stavans is a Mexican-American, essayist, lexicographer, cultural commentator, translator, short-story author, TV personality, and teacher known for his insights into American, Hispanic, and Jewish cultures.- Life :Ilan Stavans was born in Mexico to a middle-class Jewish family from the Pale...
, and A.B. Yehoshua; the former U.S. Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky
Robert Pinsky is an American poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Pinsky is the author of nineteen books, most of which are collections of his own poetry...
; and a host of well-known writers and thinkers.
Contemplate is published annually by the Center for Cultural Judaism.
Activities
The Center for Cultural Judaism is creating a central library of books, articles and videos on secular, Humanistic and cultural Judaism, with many books available for purchase at the Center. An extensive bibliography of books on secular Judaism is available on the website.The Internet site also connects those in search of like-minded people with a Jewish community that supports their beliefs as well as providing cultural Jewish celebrations, services, and rites of passage to help engage non-religious, secular, cultural, and Humanistic Jews in Jewish life.
See also
- Secular Jewish cultureSecular Jewish cultureSecular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the international culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews...
- Humanistic JudaismHumanistic JudaismHumanistic Judaism is a movement in Judaism that offers a nontheistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people and encourages humanistic and secular Jews to celebrate their Jewish identity by participating in Jewish...
- Society for Humanistic JudaismSociety for Humanistic JudaismThe Society for Humanistic Judaism, founded in 1969 by Rabbi Sherwin Wine embraces a human-centered philosophy that combines the celebration of Jewish culture and identity with an adherence to humanistic values and ideas....
- City Congregation for Humanistic JudaismCity Congregation for Humanistic JudaismThe City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, founded in 1991, is the only Humanistic Jewish congregation in Manhattan, and the first Humanistic congregation in New York City to be led by a Humanistic rabbi. The aim of The City Congregation is to provide a welcoming, diverse community for cultural...