http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/judaism Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:48:41 -0400 Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:48:41 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1770/why-are-women-more-religious-than-men By Mie A. Jensen - Scholars have since the 1980s tried to explain why women are more religious than men, but contradictory evidence complicates a precise answer (Pew Research Center 2016:54), so this essay evaluates some theories to explain women’s increased religiousity. It first critically analyses Woodhead’s (2007) theory of double deprivation. Next, I evaluate gendered religiosity in relation to Judaism. I explain how motherhood makes women more religious due to their socialisation. Then, I show how practices related to behaviour affirm women’s religious role in the family. Finally, I examine... Fri, 04 Oct 2019 08:33 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1770/why-are-women-more-religious-than-men http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1009/anti-semitism-and-religious-intolerance-in-aristocratic-age-english-literature By Hayley E. Tartell - In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the witches’ scene intimates an anti-Semitic theme by comparing Jews to filthy, grotesque objects, while in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock’s portrayal serves as a means through which anti-Semitic themes are also conveyed. Similarly, in The Jew of Malta, by Christopher Marlowe, an anti-Semitic theme is implied through the character Barabas the Jew. Finally, John Donne’s Holy Sonnet XII and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales impart decidedly anti-Semitic themes while alluding to the crucifixion of Jesus. These referenced literary works poignantly... Tue, 10 Mar 2015 03:53 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1009/anti-semitism-and-religious-intolerance-in-aristocratic-age-english-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/658/contradiction-in-marriage-and-love-in-the-song-of-songs By Megan P. Kaplon - The Song of Songs is a unique book in the Bible. There is no plot and no mention of God, but the piece says a lot about early Hebrew traditions surrounding marriage and love, using elaborate descriptions and complex relationships. The overall message of The Song of Songs has been hotly debated, and possibly this is because of the nature of its assembly and the culture from which it sprung. The Song was most likely a collage of wedding songs sung across the Jewish world, and because the ancient Jewish community was widely dispersed and interpreted their beliefs many different ways, the Song of... Wed, 04 Jul 2012 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/658/contradiction-in-marriage-and-love-in-the-song-of-songs http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/551/jews-and-jewry-law-in-medieval-germany By Melissa JL. Alvaro Mutolo - Considering the legal position of Jews in Medieval Germany, the question one must ask is "what was Jewry Law like at that time?" Jewry Law can be understood as Christian legal materials and documents concerning Jews (Cohen 1994:30), and was executed by two main bodies: the monarch and the church. One of the most famous characteristics of the Medieval period was what could be described as ‘Christian piety’ or ‘religious fanaticism’ (Adler 1969:11). Christianity became the focal point of society and the church held great power. People generally followed the edicts of ecclesiastical... Mon, 18 Jul 2011 04:56 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/551/jews-and-jewry-law-in-medieval-germany http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/381/gender-specific-language-of-the-major-prophets-in-the-hebrew-bible-the-case-of-the-first-and-second-isaiah By Iulia O. Basu-Zharku - Prophecy is one of the most important institutions in the Hebrew Bible. The prophet is regarded as the voice of the Lord, bringing God’s will and commandments to the people who often forget to follow the rigors of the Law. The prophets have, also, designated roles. Some are advisors to the king (in the way Samuel advises Saul and Nathan advises David), sometimes even admonishing the monarch. Others are mendicants, unattached to a specific court and living off of what people give them. They travel extensively, prophesize the word of God, and they also perform symbolic actions (Elijah and... Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/381/gender-specific-language-of-the-major-prophets-in-the-hebrew-bible-the-case-of-the-first-and-second-isaiah http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/242/the-position-of-jews-and-christians-in-the-ottoman-empire By Yevgeniya Baraz - The position of Jewish and Christian peoples under the Ottoman Empire is an issue that continues to be disputed today, almost a century after the official end of the Empire itself. Religious association typically determined status in the predominantly Muslim Ottoman Empire. According to Moshe Ma’oz, Christians and Jews were seen as “inferior subjects or as illegitimate denominations.”[1] As a result, they were often discriminated against by the state entity. In contrast, other scholars may argue that the position of minorities under the Ottomans was lenient compared to minority... Tue, 04 May 2010 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/242/the-position-of-jews-and-christians-in-the-ottoman-empire http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/221/birobidjan-the-story-of-the-first-jewish-state By Michael C. Wiseman - The world's largest menorah is not in Jerusalem, Lakewood or even in Crown Heights; it can be found in the town square of  Birobidjan, the capital city of the eponymous Jewish Autonomous Oblast of the Soviet Union. The menorah is 21 meters high, uses nine 500 W lamps and is visible from a great distance away from the town. (Chabad) The Jewish Autonomous Oblast is a far Eastern, landlocked Russian province on the border with China. It is approximately the shape and about half the size of West Virginia (Some time after 1951, Birobidjan's northern finger was ceded to other provinces so the resemblance... Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:12 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/221/birobidjan-the-story-of-the-first-jewish-state http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/170/sexuality-religion-and-science-as-seen-through-twilight-of-the-gods By Alina Saminsky - Within the first ten minutes of Twilight of the Golds, it is clear that both Judaism and homosexuality play a role in the Gold family. The family is at least culturally Jewish, if not more, and the son David (Brendan Fraser), is portrayed to be gay. Yet neither “gay” nor “Jewish” is actually mentioned until much later in the film. What are the methods that the film uses to construct gayness and Jewishness? And are these constructions depicted as being cultural, ethnic, biological or genetic? How does the film use these constructions to make a statement about the ethical... Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:35 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/170/sexuality-religion-and-science-as-seen-through-twilight-of-the-gods http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/60/milk-and-honey-how-the-old-testament-speaks-to-a-people-in-exile By Lindsay D. Clark - Mortal glory is fleeting. The Old Testament generally does not concern itself with militant triumph or climactic discovery. It much rather prefers to employ “legends, folktales, artfully constructed stories, and the like”[1] to spin a web of frustration and disappointment. Taken as a whole unit, it is a product of the post-exilic period[2], for even its oldest pieces underwent editing to suit the purposes of authors addressing an audience during the Babylonian exile[3]. And so it sought to form a bond of struggle, and it succeeded, as “Judaism flourished in exile…&rdquo... Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:41 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/60/milk-and-honey-how-the-old-testament-speaks-to-a-people-in-exile