Mirada al judaisme europeu actual : aproximació sociodemogràfica i sociològica

Abstract

A sociological approach to an observable, self-defined Jewry in Europe is not simple because this Jewry is not represented by an homogenous entity, nor can it be reduced to any one model (as was the case in Europe several decades ago, or in the large Jewish populations in, for example, North Africa.) Indeed, on the contrary, the present-day Jewry is full of contrasts and is unevenly distributed in the different countries which make up this geopolitical and largely Christian part of the world that is the new Europe. From a geographical, historical and socio-religious point of view it is also mobile (this change was constant throughout the last century). In the following pages we offer an insight into the Jewish European population, at this, the beginning of the 21st century. We start referring to the demographic population and geographical distribution which will help us to understand the decline in the European Jewry. We will then look at the socio-cultural indicators of change and development to better understand the part these play in the Jewish way of life. To conclude, we will attempt to assess the survival of and future of Judaism in Europe.