Religion: Judaism or Judaisms?
It has been argued that Judaism can be seen not only as a single religion, but
as a group of similar religions. It has also been pointed-out that through all
the trials and tribulations that Judaism has suffered through, that there have
been common themes that have proven omni-pervasive. Any institution with roots
as ancient and varied as the religion of the Jews is bound to have a few
variations, especially when most of its history takes place in the political and
theological hot spot of the Middle East.
In this discussion, many facets of Judaism will be examined, primarily in the
three temporal subdivisions labeled the Tribal / Pre-Monarchy Period, the
Divided Monarchy, and the Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era. Among all the
time periods where the religion has been split, these three seem to be the most
representative of the forces responsible.
As for a common thread seen throughout all Judiasms, the area of focus here is
the place associated with the religion : Jerusalem. This topic will be covered
in detail first, and then the multiple Judaism arguments will be presented. In
this way, it is possible to keep a common focus in mind when reading about all
the other situations in which the religion has found itself. A brief conclusion
follows the discussion.
A Place to Call Home
No other religion has ever been so attached to its birthplace as Judaism.
Perhaps this is because Jews have been exiled and restricted from this place for
most of their history. Jerusalem is not only home to Judaism, but to the Muslim
and Christian religions as well. Historically this has made it quite a busy
place for t ...