s Judaism composed of many 'small religions' or one underlying religion? Judaism or Judaisms?

                    It has been argued that Judaism can be seen not only as a single religion, but as a group of similar religions. It has also
                    been pointed-out that through all the trials and tribulations that Judaism has suffered through, that there have been
                    common themes that have proven omni-pervasive. Any institution with roots as ancient and varied as the religion of the
                    Jews is bound to have a few variations, especially when most of its history takes place in the political and theological hot
                    spot of the Middle East.

                    In this discussion, many facets of Judaism will be examined, primarily in the three temporal subdivisions labeled the Tribal
                    / Pre-Monarchy Period, the Divided Monarchy, and the Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era. Among all the time
                    periods where the religion has been split, these three seem to be the most representative of the forces responsible.

                    As for a common thread seen throughout all Judiasms, the area of focus here is the place associated with the religion :
                    Jerusalem. This topic will be covered in detail first, and then the multiple Judaism arguments will be presented. In this way,
                    it is possible to keep a common focus in mind when reading about all the other situations in which the religion has found
                    itself. A brief conclusion follows the discussion.

                    A Place to Call Home

                    No other religion has ever been so attached to its birthplace as Judaism. Perhaps this is because Jews have been exiled
                    and restricted from this place for most of their history. Jerusalem is not only home to Judaism, but to the Muslim and
                    Christian religions as well. Historically this has made it quite a busy place for the various groups. 

                    Jerusalem is where the temple of the Jews once stood; the only place on the whole Earth where one could leave the
                    confines of day to day life and get closer to God. In 586 BCE when the temple was destroyed, no Jew would have
                    denied Jerusalem as being the geographic center of the religion. From that point on, the Jewish people have migrated
                    around the world, but not one of them forgets the fact that Jerusalem is where it all began. It is truly a sacred place, and
                    helps to define what Judaism means to many people; a common thread to run through all the various splinters of the
                    religion and help hold them together.

                    Even today, as the Jewish people have their precious Jerusalem back (through the help of other nations and their politics)
                    there is great conflict and emotion surrounding it. Other nations and people in the area feel that they should be in control
                    of the renowned city, and the Jews deny fervently any attempt to wrestle it from their occupation. It is true that there is no
                    temple in Jeruslaem today, nor are all the Jews in the world rushing to get back there. But it is apparent that the city
                    represents more to the religion of Judaism than a mere place to live and work. The city of Jerusalem is a spiritual
                    epicenter, and throughout Judaisms long and varied history, this single fact has never changed.

                    Tribal / Pre-Monarchy

                    Judaisms roots lie far back in the beginnings of recorded history. The religion did not spring into existence exactly as it is
                    known today, rather it was pushed and prodded by various environmental factors along the way. One of the first major
                    influences on the religion was the Canaanite nation. Various theories exist as to how and when the people that would later
                    be called Jews entered into this civilization. But regardless of how they ultimately got there, these pioneers of the new faith
                    were subjected to many of the ideas and prejudices of the time. Any new society that finds itself in an existing social
                    situation, can do no more than to try and integrate into that framework. And this is exactly what the Jews did.

                    Early Judaism worshipped multiple gods. One of these gods was known as Baal, and was generally thought-of as a
                    statue god with certain limitations on his power. The other primary deity was called YHWH (or Yahweh) and enjoyed a
                    much more mysterious and illusive reputation. He was very numinous, and one was to have great respect, but great fear
                    for him at the same time. Baal was not ever really feared, as his cycles (metaphorically seen as the seasons) were fairly
                    well known, and not at all fear-inducing.

                    The fact that the early Jews and Canaanites had these two radically different representations of a deity active in their
                    culture, basically assured that there would be splits in the faith. One group inevitably would focus on one of the gods, and
                    another would focus on another. In this way, the single religion could support multiple types of worship, leading to
                    multiple philosophies and patterns of behavior, which could then focus more and more on their respective niche, widening
                    the gap into a clear cut distinction between religious groups. 

                    This early time period was generally quite temporary and non-centralized, stemming from the fact that technology was at a
                    very low level, and peoples lifespan was fairly short. These conditions led to a rapid rate of turnover in religious thought,
                    and left many factions of people to their own devices. Widespread geographic distribution coupled with poor
                    communication certainly did not help in holding the many faiths together. The Tribal Period in Jewish history is one of the
                    more splintered eras in the religion, but since these people were all living in the area near Jerusalem, the common thread
                    can be seen clearly through the other less-defined elements of the religion.

                    Divided Monarchy

                    By its very name, it is apparent that this period of history is host to a great deal of divergence in the Jewish religion. As
                    Solomon was king, people began to grow more and more restless. Some objected to worshiping a human king, while
                    others balked at the oppression of the poor that was going on. Political unrest in this period led to a decisive split in
                    geographic territory, and thus a split in religious views.

                    A group of people left the area of Judah and traveled North to found Israel, where they could be free to practice their
                    own political flavors, and their own religious flavors as well. This sort of behavior has come to be seen as common of
                    oppressed people, and the result is almost always a great deviation in the ways of the old world. A perfect example of
                    this comes when examining the point in American history where independence was declared from England. Now, mere
                    centuries later, America is as different in its politics, religions, and social forces from England as one could imagine. This
                    was most likely the result when Israel was founded, far back in Biblical history.

                    Communication between the two cities was sparse. The priests and prophets were undoubtedly addressing items
                    pertinent to one group, but not neccesarily the other. The influence of foreign traders to each of the two places, as well as
                    the political attitudes of each all would have had enormous impact on a newly-spawned religion. Thus, it can easily be
                    seen that the religion was split into (at least) two major divisions during this time period.

                    Toward the end of the Divided Monarchy, it seems that the prophets began calling for major changes in the basic
                    foundation of the early Jews lives. The kings and priests had no major disputes with the status quo, but apparently the
                    prophets were calling for a reorganization. This sort of turmoil within can do nothing but further split peoples faith. It
                    was is if the question was posed : to follow the kings and the priests, who have guided us and kept us safe? or follow the
                    far-seeing prophets, who are more like us and honestly have our best interests at heart? As the next major historical
                    division occurred this sort of argument would continue, and thus the Jewish people were left to practice their religion in
                    whatever way they felt best : multiple groups of people with varying faith in the many forms of Judaism as it existed
                    toward the end of the Divided Monarchy. 

                    Hasmonean / Maccabean and Roman Era

                    This time period in Jewish history is politically tumultuous, leading to high levels of splits and variations in the religion itself.
                    One of the most disruptive types of all wars is a civil war. And this is exactly what occurs at the outset in the Jewish
                    homeland of Jerusalem. The Jewish civil war was against the extreme Hellenizers (people who tended toward utter reason
                    in their beliefs) and the moderate Hellenizers (people who can see things rationally, but believe there are more items to
                    consider than this -- ex. the Maccabean family, who became the Hasmonean kings). So right away, it is apparent that the
                    ideas that the Greeks introduced into Jewish culture have acted as time-bombs of social memes, and have created a
                    major split in the religion. When the violence of the war has subsided, the moderate Hellenizers have won (everything in
                    moderation!) and rule for a short time, until the Roman empire attacks and throws even more kinks into the Jewish
                    society. When the Romans take over, the Hasmonean kings are left in place as puppet kings, which ultimately forces the
                    general population to question their governing body. 

                    When the Romans destroy the temple in Jerusalem, it is made painfully clear that some changes are going to be made.
                    Most obvious, the priests suddenly have no major role in the religion. Their primary purpose had been to tend to the
                    sacrificing of animals, and since it is illegal to sacrifice an animal outside the temple, the priests were in an unsettling
                    position.

                    As can be seen in countless other examples, politics and religion are invariably tied, and people began practicing their
                    own flavors of Judaism after their civilization had been so radically altered. At this point in history, there is really no solid
                    rule to prevent such splits, and for a time a mixed form of Judaism with many varieties flourishes.

                    No one was sure what to do once the heart of Judaism (the temple) had been destroyed, but it soon became apparent
                    that an appealing option was arising. Two major social groups of the time period were vying for power. The first group,
                    the Saducees were associated with the displaced Hasmonean kings. The second group, the Pharisees, had an idea that
                    would help work around the tragic destruction of the temple. People were split, once again. They could stay with the
                    traditional Saducees (who had the political power, believed in only written Torah, and did not subscribe to resurrection --
                    basically a conservative view), or they could side with the newcomers, the Pharisees (who had religious power, believed
                    in both the written and the oral Torah, and believed in resurrection) and hope to preserve their Jewish heritage by
                    worshiping outside of the temple, in their everyday life.

                    It was not a hard decision, and the Pharisees eventually gained power, leading the Jewish religion into its next phase of
                    Rabbinic Judaism.

                    It is apparent that in each of the three time periods discussed above that many factions of the same religion were active.
                    Competing philosophies, outside political forces, and geographic isolation are among the most obvious of the dividing
                    forces. However many other influences pound each and every day on a given social institution, subtly forming it and
                    changing it into something it was not. For this reason, the answer to the debate whether Judaism is a single, or multiple
                    religion(s) is an obvious one, depending upon how you choose to look at it. Every religion has many pieces, but as long as
                    there are a few constants (such as the birthplace, the language, literature, etc) it is possible to view the whole as a single
                    force, and still acknowledge variations that will inevitably spring-up.