Zionism reacted against the older invention of Judaism as religion.
Evidence
One of the more fruitful ways to understand Zionism is not to identify it as an attempt at secularizing Judaism (or Jewish traditions) through the invention of a national tradition. Predominant as such a description is, it nevertheless suffers from some acute deficiencies, not least of which is its lack of clarity as to the meaning of “secularization.” Instead, Zionism would be better understood if viewed as a counterreaction to another act of invention that preceded Zionism: the transformation of Judaism into a “religion” (or the “invention” of Jewish religion). This has to do with the modern ideological innovation and practical transformation that originated in Europe, mostly in Germany, from the eighteenth century onward, which sought to reinterpret Jewish traditions so as to render them applicable to the allegedly universal (and, again, essentially European Protestant) category of religion, in itself a contemporaneous invention. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 748
Categorization
- DEFINE: Gives the chapter’s core reframe: secularization was itself a second-order response to a prior imposed act of categorization.
- XREF: connects to: Zionism required religious myth because it lacked the land and language pillars of nationalism. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 2373; Zionism countered the earlier invention of Judaism as a religion — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 748; Political Zionism revolted against Judaism, not against the West — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab: A History of the…, 972 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Zionism countered the earlier invention of Judaism as a religion
#corroborates(1.00) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 748 - Political Zionism revolted against Judaism, not against the West
#expands(0.90) — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 972 - Jewishness was transposed from a nation’s religion into a national religion
#expands(0.85) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 836