These three mainstream movements are in serious trouble--not merely demographically and generationally, but also ontologically, in terms of their self-understanding. Renewal and Reconstructionism seem to be making gains--for the same reasons as the main denominations are in trouble, probably. All three mainstream movements are entangled in struggles of self-definition and self-legitimation vis-à-vis the others, and all seem to be on the defensive rather than actively articulating a living and viable Judaism.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2008/10/the-brisket-king/8990/
