Since the end of World War II, there have been enormous changes in American Judaism. For a whole generation that came of age after 1945, the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel were the two defining events. Even today, studies show that most American Jews believe memorializing the Holocaust is one of their most important obligations.

Many feel that remembering the Holocaust is more important than participating in synagogue services or celebrating the Jewish holidays. Even those who do not share this view understand that the Nazi would have murdered all Jews, regardless of denomination affiliation or level of piety. All Jews are therefore part of what Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik called the b’rit goral, the covenant of fate.

In recent years, fewer American Jews are finding this historic justification insufficient. Religion is seen as a matter of personal choice rather than an inherited obligation. Many people are looking to Judaism to provide them with existential meaning. They hope that their participation in religious experiences will enrich their lives by uplifting their souls.

Jewish Identity below the Mason-Dixon line

In an article published for the Journal of Jewish Studies, Dana writes about the American climate and jewry in the Nineteeth-century American south.

The Educational Crisis in American Reform Judaism

The American Jewish community has placed a low emphasis on serious Jewish education. In an article written for the Journal of Beliefs and Values, Dana talks about the current situation, and hope for the future.

New Principles and Reform Judaism

In an short article written about the Pittsburgh Platform, the new principles are discussed and analyzed. This article first appeared in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.

Reform Judaism - Encyclopedia Judaica

"The Reform movement was a bold historical response to the dramatic events of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe. Despite the frequent claim that pluralism has always been a central feature of Jewish life, the idea that Jews could practice their faith according to the moral precepts of Judaism but without complete adherence to the code of Jewish law was a radical one...."

American Reform Judaism and the Southern Baptist Convention: Responses to Social Trends

"This article addresses current trends in Reform Judaism by examining the role played by the new platform adopted in 1999 by the Central Conference of American Rabbis..."

Responding to the
New Reality
Congress Monthly,
Jan-Feb 2002, 13-14.

"I remember that during the years that I lived in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the most popular books on the peaceful transition to democracy there was entitled Tomorrow Is Another Country, and I feel that that title could aptly be applied to our current situation."

The Sociological Study of Conservative Judaism in America

Review essay published in the American Jewish Archives Journal.  Volume LIV,  #1, 2002.pp. 91-99.

W. E. Todd’s Attempt to Convert to Judaism and Study for the Reform Rabbinate in 1896

Late-nineteenth-century Classical Reform Judaism advocated a universalistic conception of the Jewish religion which held that non-Jews could and should embrace the religious concepts and perhaps event he from of American Reform Judaism.

A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism:
The American Reform Movement’s Most Recent Debate

The American Reform movement, which has a membership close to 1.5 million members, claims to be the largest liberal denomination in the United States. American Reform Jews are organized into the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), which has close to 875 congregations.

The 1999 CCAR Pittsburgh Platform and its Impact on American Reform Judaism
Scottish Journal of Religious Studies, vol. 20, no. 2, December 1999.

"The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) adopted a new Platform in May 1999, at its 110th Annual Convention held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The passing of these Principles has attracted a great deal of interest, not only in the American Reform movement, which claims about 1.5 million members, but also in the broader American Jewish community and beyond.."

American Reform Jews: An Introduction by Dana Evan Kaplan

As its title indicates, this book is an introduction to Reform Judaism that provides an overview of the Movement’s history and a description of what it stands for today. As important,the book offers an in-depth look at the issues Reform Judaism struggles with well into its second century as an American liberal religious movement.