{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260418T162306Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X1DPBXN?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"B07X1DPBXN","authors":["Daniel Langton"],"book_id":"9783110659139","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/reform-judaism-and-darwin-B07X1DPBXN","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9783110659139.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","description":"Darwin provoked Jewish as well as Christian thinkers so that many felt obliged to establish oppositional, alternative, synthetic, or complimentary models relating Jewish religion to his theory of natural selection. This book examines a range of leading nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American progressive Jewish thinkers, with the primary focus being rabbis Kohler, Wise, Hirsch, Krauskopf, and Hahn, although many others are covered. Key themes include the widespread commitment to universal evolutionism, that is, the application of biological evolutionary theory to other realms (e.g. history, religion, cosmic), and the particular fascination with the evolution of ethical systems within human societies, bearing in mind mankind’s bestial origins and the new challenges for understanding religious authority and revelation. It is argued that Reform Jewish discussions about the nature of God have been more profoundly shaped by engagement with evolutionary theory than has been recognized before, and that evolutionary thought provides the key framework for understanding Reform Judaism itself. The precise nature of Jewish Reform engagement with Christian proponents of theistic evolution are important, as are their interest in alternative evolutionists to Darwin, such as Spencer and Haeckel.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9783110659139","publication_date":"20190722","publisher":"De Gruyter","slug":"reform-judaism-and-darwin","subtitle":"How Engaging With Evolutionary Theory Shaped American Jewish Religion","title":"Reform Judaism and Darwin"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"REL040080","confidence_band":"high","label":"Reform Judaism","score":0.8516,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL040030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Jewish History","score":0.7246,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL040090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Jewish Theology","score":0.7236,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"REL040080","confidence_band":"high","label":"Reform Judaism","score":0.8516,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL040030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Jewish History","score":0.7246,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL040090","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Jewish Theology","score":0.7236,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS022000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Jewish History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"REL040080","confidence_band":"high","label":"Reform Judaism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"REL106000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Religion & Science","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Reform Judaism","score":0.8516,"slug":"reform-judaism"},{"label":"Jewish History","score":0.7246,"slug":"jewish-history"},{"label":"Jewish Theology","score":0.7236,"slug":"jewish-theology"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Reform Judaism","Good for readers interested in american","Good for readers who enjoy Reform Judaism and Jewish History."],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Judith Frishman","Thorsten Fuchshuber"],"book_id":"9783111518596","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9783111518596.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.6929,"title":"Samuel Hirsch","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9783111518596"},{"authors":["Judith Frishman","Thorsten Fuchshuber","Judith","Fuchshuber"],"book_id":"9783110464344","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9783110464344.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.6907,"title":"Samuel Hirsch","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9783110464344"},{"authors":["Judah M. Cohen"],"book_id":"9780253040206","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780253040206.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.5083,"title":"Jewish Religious Music in Nineteenth-century America","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780253040206"},{"authors":["Judah M. Cohen"],"book_id":"9780253040213","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780253040213.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.5025,"title":"Jewish Religious Music in Nineteenth-century America","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780253040213"},{"authors":["Adam Kirsch"],"book_id":"9780393354782","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393354782.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.4912,"title":"The People and the Books","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393354782"},{"authors":["Herman Wouk"],"book_id":"9780316055529","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316055529.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.083,"title":"This Is My God","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316055529"},{"authors":["Baruch Spinoza"],"book_id":"9781625583130","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781625583130.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":11.0457,"title":"A Theologico Political Treatise","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781625583130"},{"authors":["Michael A. 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