In the last two sessions, we studied both scriptural/textual as well as historical resources on conversion from the Biblical period until the Modern Era. Now, we are going to look at contemporary demographic sources, grapple with theological and communal questions and dream of an exciting Jewish future.
וְאָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: לֹא הִגְלָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבֵין הָאוּמּוֹת אֶלָּא כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּתּוֹסְפוּ עֲלֵיהֶם גֵּרִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּזְרַעְתִּיהָ לִי בָּאָרֶץ״. כְּלוּם אָדָם זוֹרֵעַ סְאָה אֶלָּא לְהַכְנִיס כַּמָּה כּוֹרִין.
And Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, exiled Israel among the nations only so that converts would join them, as it is stated: “And I will sow her to Me in the land” (Hosea 2:25). Does a person sow a se’a of grain for any reason other than to bring in several kor of grain during the harvest? So too, the exile is to enable converts from the nations to join the Jewish people.
“The righteous of all nations have a share in the World to Come” (Tosefta Sanhedrin 13, based on Sanhedrin 105a)...
Demographics of today:
What is the Pew Report? The Pew Report is an extensive once-a-decade study into the demographics and sociology of social and religious groups in the United States and is headed by the Pew Research Center.
“Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.” (from the website: pewresearch.org)
We are going to look at the two most recent studies from Pew: 2014 and 2021
2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study from the Pew Report: some takeaways
We’re the biggest religious minority: Judaism is the largest faith group in America after Christianity, and its relative size in America has grown slightly since 2007, from 1.7 percent of the U.S. population in 2007 to 1.9 percent in 2014. The denominational breakdown of Jews who identify with Judaism (“Jews by religion”) is 44 percent Reform, 22 percent Conservative, 14 percent Orthodox, 5 percent another movement and 16 percent no denomination.
• We’re not as white as we used to be: American Jewish adults are 90 percent white, 2 percent black, 4 percent Latino, 2 percent Asian American and 2 percent “other non-Hispanic.” That’s a notable change from 2007, when whites comprised 95 percent of American Jews, Latinos comprised 3 percent, blacks comprised 1 percent and the percentage of Asians was negligible.
• A quarter of us are losing our religion: When it comes to religious retention rates, American Jews come in third, retaining 75 percent of those raised Jewish. By comparison, Hindus retain 80 percent and Muslims 77 percent. Behind the Jews are evangelical Christians at 65 percent; Mormons, 64 percent; Catholics, 59 percent; and mainline Protestants, 45 percent. Jehovah’s Witnesses retain only 34 percent.
• But 17 percent of us have found Judaism: Seventeen percent of American Jews say they were raised in another religion. Six percent say they were raised unaffiliated, 4 percent as mainline Protestant, 3 percent as Catholic, and 2 percent each as evangelical and in some other religion.
Source: https://jweekly.com/2015/05/15/1-in-6-american-jews-are-converts-and-9-other-findings-in-pew-study/
What is the Pew Report? The Pew Report is an extensive once-a-decade study into the demographics and sociology of social and religious groups in the United States and is headed by the Pew Research Center.
“Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.” (from the website: pewresearch.org)
We are going to look at the two most recent studies from Pew: 2014 and 2021
2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study from the Pew Report: some takeaways
We’re the biggest religious minority: Judaism is the largest faith group in America after Christianity, and its relative size in America has grown slightly since 2007, from 1.7 percent of the U.S. population in 2007 to 1.9 percent in 2014. The denominational breakdown of Jews who identify with Judaism (“Jews by religion”) is 44 percent Reform, 22 percent Conservative, 14 percent Orthodox, 5 percent another movement and 16 percent no denomination.
• We’re not as white as we used to be: American Jewish adults are 90 percent white, 2 percent black, 4 percent Latino, 2 percent Asian American and 2 percent “other non-Hispanic.” That’s a notable change from 2007, when whites comprised 95 percent of American Jews, Latinos comprised 3 percent, blacks comprised 1 percent and the percentage of Asians was negligible.
• A quarter of us are losing our religion: When it comes to religious retention rates, American Jews come in third, retaining 75 percent of those raised Jewish. By comparison, Hindus retain 80 percent and Muslims 77 percent. Behind the Jews are evangelical Christians at 65 percent; Mormons, 64 percent; Catholics, 59 percent; and mainline Protestants, 45 percent. Jehovah’s Witnesses retain only 34 percent.
• But 17 percent of us have found Judaism: Seventeen percent of American Jews say they were raised in another religion. Six percent say they were raised unaffiliated, 4 percent as mainline Protestant, 3 percent as Catholic, and 2 percent each as evangelical and in some other religion.
Source: https://jweekly.com/2015/05/15/1-in-6-american-jews-are-converts-and-9-other-findings-in-pew-study/
2020 Pew Report findings:
The size of the adult Jewish population has been fairly stable in percentage terms, while rising in absolute numbers, roughly in line with the growth of the U.S. population. An estimated 2.4% of U.S. adults are Jewish. In Pew Research Center’s first major survey of U.S. Jews in 2013, by comparison, the estimate was 2.2%. In absolute numbers, the 2020 Jewish population estimate is approximately 7.5 million, including 5.8 million adults and 1.8 million children (rounded to the closest 100,000). The 2013 estimate was 6.7 million, including 5.3 million adults and 1.3 million children.
Like the overall U.S. population, Jews appear to be growing more racially and ethnically diverse. Around nine-in-ten Jewish American adults (92%) identify as non-Hispanic White, while 8% identify with other racial or ethnic categories. Among Jews ages 18 to 29, however, the share who identify as a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White rises to 15%.
Overall, 17% of Jews surveyed – including 29% of Jewish adults under the age of 30 – live in households in which at least one child or adult is Black, Hispanic, Asian, some other non-White race or ethnicity, or multiracial.
Majorities of U.S. Jews engage in cultural activities like cooking Jewish food (72%), sharing holidays with non-Jewish friends (62%) and visiting historical Jewish sites (57%). Many also say they engage with Judaism through Jewish media by “often” or “sometimes” reading Jewish literature, history or biographies (44%), watching television with Jewish or Israeli themes (43%), or reading Jewish news in print or online (42%). Those who are religiously observant in traditional ways – such as going to synagogue and keeping kosher dietary laws – also report the highest levels of engagement in the broad array of cultural Jewish activities listed in the survey.
Younger Jews are more likely than older Jews to identify as Orthodox and more likely to say they do not belong to any particular branch of Judaism. Jews under 30 appear to be taking divergent paths – one steeped in traditional religious observance, the other involving little or no religious engagement. Some 17% of U.S. Jews ages 18 to 29 say they are Orthodox, compared with 3% of Jews ages 65 and older. At the same time, 41% of young Jewish adults do not identify with any particular branch of American Judaism. Most of the people in this category are “Jews of no religion” – they describe their religion as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular, though they all have a Jewish parent or were raised Jewish and still identify as Jewish culturally, ethnically or because of their family background.
Meanwhile, the Reform and Conservative movements, American Judaism’s largest branches, seem to be losing ground with younger generations. About four-in-ten Jews ages 18 to 29 identify as Reform (29%) or Conservative (8%), compared with seven-in-ten Jews who are 65 and older (44% Reform, 25% Conservative).
About four-in-ten married Jews (42%) have a non-Jewish spouse, but intermarriage rates differ within subgroups. For example, intermarriage is almost nonexistent among married Orthodox Jews (2%), while nearly half of all non-Orthodox Jews who are married say their spouse is not Jewish (47%). Intermarriage is more common among those who have married in recent years: Among Jewish respondents who got married since the beginning of 2010, 61% have a non-Jewish spouse, compared with 18% of Jews who got married before 1980. Intermarriage also is more common among Jews who are themselves the offspring of intermarried parents: Among married Jews who say they have one Jewish parent, 82% have a non-Jewish spouse, compared with 34% of those who report that both of their parents were Jewish.
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/05/11/10-key-findings-about-jewish-americans/
More on Jewish demographics: (we number around 7.5 million in the USA)
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/the-size-of-the-u-s-jewish-population/
For the nerds: a counter perspective to the Pew Report
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12397-023-09486-x
The size of the adult Jewish population has been fairly stable in percentage terms, while rising in absolute numbers, roughly in line with the growth of the U.S. population. An estimated 2.4% of U.S. adults are Jewish. In Pew Research Center’s first major survey of U.S. Jews in 2013, by comparison, the estimate was 2.2%. In absolute numbers, the 2020 Jewish population estimate is approximately 7.5 million, including 5.8 million adults and 1.8 million children (rounded to the closest 100,000). The 2013 estimate was 6.7 million, including 5.3 million adults and 1.3 million children.
Like the overall U.S. population, Jews appear to be growing more racially and ethnically diverse. Around nine-in-ten Jewish American adults (92%) identify as non-Hispanic White, while 8% identify with other racial or ethnic categories. Among Jews ages 18 to 29, however, the share who identify as a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White rises to 15%.
Overall, 17% of Jews surveyed – including 29% of Jewish adults under the age of 30 – live in households in which at least one child or adult is Black, Hispanic, Asian, some other non-White race or ethnicity, or multiracial.
Majorities of U.S. Jews engage in cultural activities like cooking Jewish food (72%), sharing holidays with non-Jewish friends (62%) and visiting historical Jewish sites (57%). Many also say they engage with Judaism through Jewish media by “often” or “sometimes” reading Jewish literature, history or biographies (44%), watching television with Jewish or Israeli themes (43%), or reading Jewish news in print or online (42%). Those who are religiously observant in traditional ways – such as going to synagogue and keeping kosher dietary laws – also report the highest levels of engagement in the broad array of cultural Jewish activities listed in the survey.
Younger Jews are more likely than older Jews to identify as Orthodox and more likely to say they do not belong to any particular branch of Judaism. Jews under 30 appear to be taking divergent paths – one steeped in traditional religious observance, the other involving little or no religious engagement. Some 17% of U.S. Jews ages 18 to 29 say they are Orthodox, compared with 3% of Jews ages 65 and older. At the same time, 41% of young Jewish adults do not identify with any particular branch of American Judaism. Most of the people in this category are “Jews of no religion” – they describe their religion as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular, though they all have a Jewish parent or were raised Jewish and still identify as Jewish culturally, ethnically or because of their family background.
Meanwhile, the Reform and Conservative movements, American Judaism’s largest branches, seem to be losing ground with younger generations. About four-in-ten Jews ages 18 to 29 identify as Reform (29%) or Conservative (8%), compared with seven-in-ten Jews who are 65 and older (44% Reform, 25% Conservative).
About four-in-ten married Jews (42%) have a non-Jewish spouse, but intermarriage rates differ within subgroups. For example, intermarriage is almost nonexistent among married Orthodox Jews (2%), while nearly half of all non-Orthodox Jews who are married say their spouse is not Jewish (47%). Intermarriage is more common among those who have married in recent years: Among Jewish respondents who got married since the beginning of 2010, 61% have a non-Jewish spouse, compared with 18% of Jews who got married before 1980. Intermarriage also is more common among Jews who are themselves the offspring of intermarried parents: Among married Jews who say they have one Jewish parent, 82% have a non-Jewish spouse, compared with 34% of those who report that both of their parents were Jewish.
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/05/11/10-key-findings-about-jewish-americans/
More on Jewish demographics: (we number around 7.5 million in the USA)
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/the-size-of-the-u-s-jewish-population/
For the nerds: a counter perspective to the Pew Report
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12397-023-09486-x
‘The number of Americans who self-identify as Jewish is growing rapidly—from 5 million to 7.5 million people since 1990…’
‘Rather than the narrative of the resilient underdog, the story of the modern American Jew is one of potency and choice…’
‘…national surveys over the past decade also report that American Jews consistently the best-liked and most well-respected religious community in the United States…’
‘Thousands of people join Judaism every year across the country as Jews by Choice, while hundreds of thousands more ive with Jews or as Jews without formal conversion. American Judaism is finally beginning to acknowledge the hundreds of thousands of Jews of Color who had been undercounted in population studies… technology is enabling us to explore the possibility of communities based on shared interests and values, rather than shared neighborhoods. Ongoing efforts could enable pluralism to overtake denominationalism…’
‘Within the present resides the promise of another Jewish revival. Jews—and potential Jews and people who are Jewishly connected and those who are Jewishly curious—are hungry for new expressions of spirituality, values, and community.’
‘By redoubling best practices, we can connect with the tens of millions of Americans seeking a framework by which to lead purposeful, ethical and joyful lives. We can also strengthen the moral fiber of American society by sharing with more people Jewish intellectual, spiritual, and social practices, without any conversionary intent.'
‘People come with a purpose but stay because of their growing sense of belonging, rather than the other way around.’
Source: Awakenings – American Jewish Transformations in Identity, Leadership and Belonging, Rabbi Joshua Stanton and Rabbi Benjamin Spratt, pp. xvi-xxi
‘Rather than the narrative of the resilient underdog, the story of the modern American Jew is one of potency and choice…’
‘…national surveys over the past decade also report that American Jews consistently the best-liked and most well-respected religious community in the United States…’
‘Thousands of people join Judaism every year across the country as Jews by Choice, while hundreds of thousands more ive with Jews or as Jews without formal conversion. American Judaism is finally beginning to acknowledge the hundreds of thousands of Jews of Color who had been undercounted in population studies… technology is enabling us to explore the possibility of communities based on shared interests and values, rather than shared neighborhoods. Ongoing efforts could enable pluralism to overtake denominationalism…’
‘Within the present resides the promise of another Jewish revival. Jews—and potential Jews and people who are Jewishly connected and those who are Jewishly curious—are hungry for new expressions of spirituality, values, and community.’
‘By redoubling best practices, we can connect with the tens of millions of Americans seeking a framework by which to lead purposeful, ethical and joyful lives. We can also strengthen the moral fiber of American society by sharing with more people Jewish intellectual, spiritual, and social practices, without any conversionary intent.'
‘People come with a purpose but stay because of their growing sense of belonging, rather than the other way around.’
Source: Awakenings – American Jewish Transformations in Identity, Leadership and Belonging, Rabbi Joshua Stanton and Rabbi Benjamin Spratt, pp. xvi-xxi
The Jewish Future – Glancing at the Horizon
- Today’s and future demographic shifts (1 in 6 American Jews is a convert, the rise of Jews of Color and LGBTQ Jews; Intro courses are booming, digital learning opportunities)
- What about… cultural assimilation? Cultural appropriation? The language of ‘closed practice’ versus ‘boundaried practice’? Social media discourse?
- What is the place of (rising) antisemitism in this discussion?
- Confronting triggering terms: sacred magnetism, proselytizing, (soft) mission, proactive conversion – what are their universes of meaning?
- Are we witnessing the rise of a ‘conversionary’ Judaism? What is the difference between a ‘conversionary’ and a ‘missionary’ Judaism? Should Jews engage in a (soft) mission? How would we define such a mission? Can we argue that Judaism has an innate ‘missionary thrust’ that emerges during moments of safety?
- Confronting triggering terms: sacred magnetism, proselytizing, (soft) mission, proactive conversion, theology of alignment not salvation (‘checks and balances’: Pesachim 87b versus Tosefta 13a).
- Building an infrastructure of welcoming and growth:
- digital learning opportunities, convert cohorts, advocacy and representation, ‘born Jewconvert alliance’, training of para-rabbis and emissaries to support emerging Jewish populations and revitalize small community life, synagogue seeding, development of ethical codes and sensibilities and training of both lay and ordained conversion specialists, communal-wide strategic plan(s) for welcoming and integrating converts).