The in-married Jewish people, the intermarried Jewish people

The catchiest paragraph in the new study by Prof. Steven M. Cohen - Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, New York - is quite frightening: we are developing into two distinct populations: the in-married and the intermarried... The identity chasm between in-married and intermarried is wide, which suggests the imagery of "Two Jewries."

Cohen adds this observation to the mix of numbers, facts and analysis: Intermarriage does indeed constitute the greatest single threat to Jewish continuity today, both on an individual level (for specific Jewish families and their descendants) and on a group level (for the size and distinctiveness of the American Jewish population).

No wonder that the study is headlined "The inconvenient truth for American Jews." No wonder that the cover letter accompanying this study - and written by Rabbi Irving Greenberg, President of the
Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation (the sponsor of this new study) - contains this warning: "We do not offer this analysis to drive us to despair but to stimulate new focus, creativity and investment..."

Inmarried

Now, to the findings: There is an important segment of American Jewry, one about evenly divided among Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and non-denominational Jews. It is a population segment where the observance of Passover and Chanukah is almost universal and where the vast majorities (80% or more) belong to synagogues, attend services on the High Holidays, and fast on Yom Kippur. Majorities light Sabbath candles, report that most of their friends are Jewish, feel that being Jewish is very important to them, have been to Israel, and contribute to Jewish charities. Most also send their young children to Jewish pre-schools and their older children to Jewish youth groups. Almost half of this segment did some volunteer work for a Jewish organization in the past year, attended an adult Jewish education program, and feel very attached to Israel. People who belong to this group have had a reasonably strong Jewish upbringing. Hardly any report having been raised by intermarried parents or having had a Christmas tree in their home growing up.

Who are these people? They are in-married Jewish couples with school-age children.

Even more encouraging: the in-married have spurred a major expansion in Jewish educational utilization. The in-married had a stronger Jewish education than their counterparts 30 years ago. Signs point to an even further increase in the levels of their own children?s Jewish education. They suggest that the in-married are riding an inter-generational "up escalator" in Jewish education.

Intermarried

The intermarried homes with school-age children stand in sharp contrast. As compared with the in-married, only half as many of the intermarried observe Passover, Chanukah or Yom Kippur, or belong to a synagogue. Just 7% have mostly Jewish close friends (as compared with 53% of the in-married). Only handfuls (from 9-14%) attend services at least monthly, have been to Israel, light Sabbath candles, keep kosher at home, or volunteer in Jewish contexts as compared with about four times as many among their in-married counterparts.

These lower rates of engagement are partially due to the far lower rates of Jewish education that intermarried Jews experienced in their youth. Twice as many of the intermarried than the in-married grew up with Christmas trees in their homes, and far fewer observed their parents lighting Shabbat candles. Among the intermarried, in fact, the rates for those who had Christmas trees and Shabbat candles are about equal; among the in-married, three times as many saw Shabbat candles lit in their homes on Friday nights as those whose families erected Christmas trees in December.

But this is not the only factor driving intermarried away from Jewish life. Cohen writes: Suppose two siblings with equally low levels of parental observance and Jewish education make different marital choices. One marries a Jew and the other marries a non-Jew. Empirically, the intermarried sibling will be far less likely than his or her in-married brother or sister to raise children as Jews, let alone affiliate with Jewish institutions or practice many Jewish ritual observances.

Even Jewish day school alumni will be heavily (more Jewish) influenced by the marital decision. Of those who marry a non-Jew who does not convert, just 61 percent raise their children exclusively in Judaism, as compared with 99 percent of those who marry Jews. Intermarriage independently depresses Jewish involvement. It both reflects weaker Jewish socialization in the past and promotes lower levels of Jewish engagement today.

Education

The group of the in-married is raising about three quarters of the next generation of American Jews. The intermarried are responsible for only a quarter of today's Jewish children under the age of 18. Parents exert significant influence on the chances that their children will marry Jews. Those with more Jewish capital tend to marry Jews; while those with less Jewish capital tend to marry non-Jews. The aim, then, is to increase the cultural, spiritual and social capital of today's Jewish children, so that they will marry Jews.

Coming tomorrow: What can Jewish institutions do with this study and what are the implications?

More on this subject on Rosner's Domain:

A dialog with Prof. Sylvia Barack Fishman on inter-marriages and conversion

A dialog with Edmund Case, president and publisher of InterfaithFamily.com

On another study by Cohen: Jewish people? What Jewish people?