Religious thinking parameters in Israeli Jews: a theoretical framework
The motivation to write the article stems from the fact that non-religious Jews are left outside the current religious 'scales', and by the need to examine the spiritual changes that some individuals experience when becoming observant or vise-versa. The article presents 13 parameters that...
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Veröffentlicht in: | מגמות 2004-06, Vol.43 (2), p.307-328 |
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Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | The motivation to write the article stems from the fact that non-religious Jews are left outside the current religious 'scales', and by the need to examine the spiritual changes that some individuals experience when becoming observant or vise-versa. The article presents 13 parameters that characterize religious thinking of Jews in Israel. Parameter clusters were obtained following analysis of the relevant literature and interviews with men and women with varying degrees of religious observance. Classification was aided by Helve's (1991) parameters of worldviews. The religious thinking parameters refer to a spectrum of religiosity types, ranging from 'religionist' or 'nationalistic' devout through a middle sphere to 'atheist'. 8 parameters differentiate types in terms of religiosity: attitude to Jewish 'truth' as an explanation of the entire phenomena of the universe and beyond; belief in the existence of a transcendent locus-of-control; belief in an eschatological collective vision concerning the people of Israel; attitude towards the formative past (of the Israeli people and the Jewish national movement); sense of connection with God: the feeling of being constantly watched by God and a belief that a mutual bond can be maintained through prayer; measuring the present in relation to the formative past of the people of Israel; rituals (religionist or nationalistic), including sanctification of sites and objects. 3 other parameters make a partial distinction between devout and atheist: level of independence in judging value-issues; dichotomous determinism regarding ethnic and gender identity; sublimation of spirituality. The 2 final parameters relate to religious thinking, although they are not exclusive to religious people: choosing limitations (especially those connected to mitzvot) prior to opportunities, and communality - the individual's perception of his/her life as bound to the collective being. The parameters are analyzed according to current theories of religious thinking: Glayton & Gladden (1974), Batson, Schoenrade, & Ventis (1993), Kedem (1995) and the Guttman (1996) scales, and according to intra-scale analysis. The latter shows that in most of the parameters there is a substantial difference between 'religionist' and atheistic thinking. The parameters in the article indicate 10 types of Jewish religiosity: non-national religionist devout, national religionist devout, moderate national religionist, balanced traditional, conscious traditional, ce |
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ISSN: | 0025-8679 |