Deceptive images1988

"Deceptive Images is a profoundly thoughtful effort by a social scientist - who is a participant observer in American Jewish life - to come to terms with his concerns about how American Jews and Judaism have been studied, and his sensitivity to the policy implications of such studies. Liebman writes about what he cares deeply about; as a social scientist he is able to use concepts and theories in which he has been trained, although not without a sense of their limitations. In the passionately argued book that results, Liebman contends that those concerned with American Jews, both social scientists and communal leaders, have placed too much emphasis on what Jews do, and too little emphasis on Judaism itself. Because they have depended too much on quantitative studies to help them understand...