Here are some highlights from this 2021 book:
Jews who practice Judaism do not necessarily think they are practicing religion, unless they are part of a larger Western society that defines Judaism as such. Many ultra- Orthodox Jews do not, in my view, see themselves as practicing a “religion,” and perhaps not even “Judaism”; rather they are devoted to a series of beliefs and practices that they believe is the will of the one God who transmitted God’s will to Moses on Mount Sinai. “A” religion would imply other religions. But many devout Jews do not acknowledge
other religions that are in any way comparable to what they do; thus the term “idolatry” has long been a term Jews use to define the “religions” of others, or maybe religion itself. Religion is idolatry; Judaism is truth!
…My father- in- law is a professor emeritus of electoral politics. He does not vote in elections. When asked why, he says he does not want to tamper with the data… There is a story that every year on Passover, J. Z. Smith’s wife, who was an active member of a synagogue in downtown Chicago, would prepare a Passover seder. When the ritual of the seder began (which happens before the meal), Smith would get up from the table and go upstairs to his study. He would remain there until the ritual part of the seder was complete, then he would come downstairs and join everyone for the meal. I do not pretend
to know if and why he did that. But if he acted so, it may not be that different
from my father- in- law’s choice not to vote. Smith was a scholar of religion.
…J.Z. Smith once confessed to me his voracious and promiscuous television- watching habit, which both delighted and scandalized me as a graduate student.
…I have not seen a major textbook, nor scholar, for almost three decades that affirms the old Protestant “belief in God” model of religion, but that’s clearly still the common understanding of the public. Public discussions of religion, from television to the nightly news, revolve around what people believe, and whether they believe in “God,” as well as some code of ethics…
…Religion is whatever people think it is…
