Entangled Histories. A Road Map to Religious Individualization in Early Modern Judaism

This article explores how the process of religious individualization, which focuses on agency and entrepreneurship, is a viable theoretical tool to be applied to early modern Judaism. Instead of interpreting early modern Judaism as a coherent and stable religious system, or emphasizing a particular current of religious thought that might be influential in supporting individual agency, the article aims to offer an overview of how a diaspora religion such as Judaism was characterized by a wealth of different religious choices. This perspective is combined with a methodological approach linked to ‘entangled history,’ which highlights plausible and potential relationships among different religious groups. This perspective aims to unearth dynamism instead of identity or coherence.