Jewish emancipation and schism: Economic development and religious change

We study the impact of liberalization and economic growth on religious communities. * Liberalization and growth initially induces communities to become less strict. * In regions of intermediate development there is an incentive for strictness to rise. * We apply this model to understand the emergence of Reform and Ultra-Orthodox Judaism. * Our analysis sheds light on religious schisms and cycles. This paper studies the impact of Jewish Emancipation and economic development on Jewish religious culture in 19th century Europe. In Germany, a liberal Reform movement developed in response to emancip... Mehr ...