Template talk:Jews and Judaism category tree

NAVIGATIONAL HELP FOR Category:Jews and Judaism, Category:Jews, Category:Judaism, category tree:

Main parent category: Category:Jews and Judaism (by country, place, region, topic.) [Main container category.]

Main sub-category: Category:Jews (by country, place, biographies, lists, categories of individuals.) [Main container sub-category.]

Main sub-category: Category:Judaism (by country, place, denominations, religious topics, religious texts, synagogues, yeshivas, schools, rabbis.) [Main container sub-category.]

Main sub-category: Category:Jewish history (by country, region, era, and all secular topics.) [Main container sub-category.]

Reasons for the creation and uses of this template

This template was created for a number of reasons and uses:

1. The parent category of this template is Category:Jews and Judaism (created June 2004) and it has become vast with many branches and with many sub categories and smaller sub-sub-categories etc connected to it.
2. From the sub-categories etc and the many articles in them, and the ongoing proliferation of related categories, it has become difficult to navigate between them and see the connections between all the related categories and how they connected to the main categories.
3. This category tree is meant to function as a form of navigational tool, see some related discussions and ideas about this subject in general at Wikipedia:A navbox on every page; Wikipedia:Categories, lists, and navigation templates: Navigation templates; Wikipedia:Navigation templates.
4. This is a simplified "family tree" such a method can be found in Category:Family trees.
5. This category tree outlines in a simple manner how the three main sub-categories accommodate all possible subjects relating to the main category in a self-explanatory manner by reading the guidelines in the boxes.
6. Often, editors from the other language versions of Wikipedia come to the English language Wikipedia and either look for guidance or try to compare the way they have categorized articles with the way it's been done here since 2004 when the system of categories was first introduced. Unlike the English language Wikipedia, the various language versions of Wikipedia have a variety of systems of categorizing Jews, Judaism, Jewish history:
7. Some place everything under a simplistic "main" category of "Judaism" but that would not account for subjects that have nothing to do with the religion of Judaism as such and not being connected with such a topic.
8. Some may place everything under the topic of "Jews" but not all Jews feel or are connected to Judaism formally or informally. While historically the Jewish people have been identified as "the people of the book" meaning the Torah or Hebrew Bible, but in modern times most Jews have become secular and do not formally identify with the Jewish religion of Judaism.
9. Some place everything under the broad category of "Jewish history" that consequently minimizes the religion of Judaism and those Jews who are important but have not been central to Jewish history as such.
10. The sub-category Category:Jewish history allows for the inclusion of all topics, many being secular subjects or atheistic or perhaps ways in which Jews and Judaism have combined with other peoples, cultures and faiths, that may have nothing to do with definitive formal Judaism or even with Jews as such but are certainly part of Jewish history because they have had a connection or impact on either Jews and Judaism or both.
11. Whereas the main parent category on the English Wikipedia, of Category:Jews and Judaism has functioned excellently and helpfully since 2004.
12. This template is placed on the talk pages of related categories only and is not meant to add clutter to article or category pages.

Thank you, IZAK (talk) 10:14, 21 December 2011 (UTC)