About the Author

Michael A. Meyer is Adolph S. Ochs Professor of Jewish History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati and the international president of the Leo Baeck Institute. He received his Ph.D. from Hebrew Union College.

Reviews

A sweeping narrative of the development of religious reform within Judaism and its institutionalization in the course of the last two centuries . . . a thorough mastery of the complex intellectual and social currents that have shaped the contours of Judaism . . . will become a standard work in the field.-- "Journal of the American Academy of Religion"

Indispensable for a complete understanding of modern Jewish religiosity.-- "Jewish Social Studies"

Meyer, author of works on the religious and intellectual history of contemporary Jews, here presents a lucid and thorough history of the Reform movement in Judaism. After analyzing the precedents for reform, he shows how the movement developed slowly in late 18th- and early 19th-century Germany, then moves on to Europe, the United States, and such relatively unexplored areas as Eastern Europe and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The author lucidly describes the philosophies and motivations of the reformers, the relationship between Reform and Orthodoxy, and Judaism's context within the Christian world. For all collections with an interest in religion.Maurice Tuchman, Hebrew Coll. Lib., Brookline, Mass.

A sweeping narrative of the development of religious reform within Judaism and its institutionalization in the course of the last two centuries . . . a thorough mastery of the complex intellectual and social currents that have shaped the contours of Judaism . . . will become a standard work in the field.--Journal of the American Academy of Religion
Indispensable for a complete understanding of modern Jewish religiosity.--Jewish Social Studies