Beyond Chrismukkah
The Christian-Jewish Interfaith Family in the United States
By Samira K. Mehta
274 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 8 halftones, notes, bibl., index
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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-3636-8
Published: March 2018 -
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4696-3635-1
Published: March 2018 -
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-1-4696-3637-5
Published: March 2018 -
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-4882-6
Published: March 2018
Buy this Book
- Paperback $29.95
- Hardcover $99.00
- E-Book $19.99
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Awards & distinctions
Finalist, 2018 National Jewish Book Award, American Jewish Studies, Jewish Book Council
Mehta’s eye-opening look at the portrayal of interfaith families across American culture since the mid-twentieth century ranges from popular TV shows, holiday cards, and humorous guides to “Chrismukkah” to children’s books, young adult fiction, and religious and secular advice manuals. Mehta argues that the emergence of multiculturalism helped generate new terms by which interfaith families felt empowered to shape their lived religious practices in ways and degrees previously unknown. They began to intertwine their religious identities without compromising their social standing. This rich portrait of families living diverse religions together at home advances the understanding of how religion functions in American society today.
About the Author
Samira K. Mehta is assistant professor of religious studies at Albright College.
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Reviews
"A dynamic and illuminating introduction to this new reality."—Reading Religion
"A must read for everyone who wants to understand the dynamics of Christian-Jewish families in an increasingly multicultural American landscape, especially the children of interfaith families, the 'bridge builders' who hold the future in their hands."--H-Net
"A book that all interfaith families, and those who love us, and those who study us, will need to read."--Being Both
"Thorough and impressive. . . . Mehta's expansive book will be enlightening for academics interested in the subject of marriage in relation to religion and interfaith dialogue, particularly Jewish-Protestant and Jewish-Catholic dialogue."--Publishers Weekly
"Samira Mehta’s ethnographic study of Jewish-Christian intermarriage is thoughtfully contextualized within American religious history, sociology, and cultural studies, painting a powerful and nuanced picture of interfaith families from the mid-twentieth century to the present. I found myself fascinated by this book."--Jodi Eichler-Levine, Lehigh University
“Replete with richly detailed stories of families trying to blend religious traditions, this well-written, insightful book is enriched by Mehta’s analysis of how historical change has affected the mixing of religions in American families.”--Elizabeth H. Pleck, University of Illinois