It is impossible to understand American Judaism without reference to its adaptation to American social mores and religious models. Among the important aspects of the American ethos that would shape Judaism in this country were voluntarism, the choice Americans enjoy whether to join or stay aloof; congregationalism, the near autonomy of each house of worship to regulate its own services; egalitarianism, which levels differences between different socioeconomic classes and eventually the genders; democratic ideals of governance; individualism and personalism, both elevating the needs and interests of each person over those of the group; moralism, the belief that the most important, if not sole, purpose of religion is to enable believers to become better human beings; and decorum, evolving conceptions of how one is to behave in a house of worship.
Successive waves of Jewish immigrants initially aimed to transplant customary ways of enacting Judaism in the Old World to the New. But in time, the children and grandchildren of immigrants adapted to American religious models, thereby reconceiving synagogue functions, home practices, and everyday lived Judaism. Not only did synagogues introduce English language prayers and sermons; they also incorporated democratic norms and egalitarian ideals to varying degrees. Though laxity in the practice of religious rituals and customs by “average” Jews is hardly unique to American Jews, ideological justifications for “pick and choose” religion draw upon American conceptions of individualism and personalism. By the end of the 20th century, Do-It-Yourself Religion—the apotheosis of individualism and personalism—had triumphed in most sectors of American Judaism (with the exception of Orthodoxy)—just as it had in other faith communities. The porousness of American society, the free flow of ideas and assumptions, render it virtually impossible for religious groups, such as Jewish ones, to insulate themselves in physical or intellectual enclaves. Indeed, many—though certainly not all—controversies about reforming American Judaism have pitted traditionalists against progressives over just how much Jewish religious practices can or should accommodate to American society’s ever-evolving ethos.
