The Judaisms of Kaifeng and Cochin: Parallel and Divergent Styles of Religious Acculturation *

From the perspective of the discipline of religious studies, a comparative study of the religious life of the Jewish communities of Kaifeng, China, and Cochin, India, is particularly instructive. By examining these “exotic” Judaisms, we learn about the cultures in which they flourished, China and India, at the same time as we learn about the mechanisms by which a religion, in this case Judaism, becomes acculturated into its environment. ¹