Antisemitism, anti-Catholicism, and anticlericalism -- Jewish anticlericalism and the making of modern citizenship in the late Enlightenment -- Romanticism, Catholicism, and oppositional anticlericalism -- Reforming Judaism, defending the family : Jews in the Catholic-liberal conflicts at mid-century -- Jews in the transnational culture wars : secularism and anti-Papal rhetoric -- Representative secularism : Jewish members of parliament and religious debate -- Nationalism, antisemitism, and the decline of Jewish anti-Catholicism -- Conclusion : rethinking European secularism from a minority perspective
Summary
The most prominent story of 19th century German & French Jewry has focused on Jews' adoption of liberal middle-class values. Joskowicz points to an equally powerful aspect of modern Jewish history: the extent to which German and French Jews sought to become modern by criticising the anti-modern positions of the Catholic Church. From the moment in which Jews began to enter the fray of modern European politics, they found that Catholicism served as a convenient foil that helped them define what it meant to be a good citizen, to practice a respectable religion, and to have a healthy family life
