Are intermarried couples hopeless?

Yesterday, I wrote about the new study by Prof. Steven Cohen. Bottom line: 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." Intermarriage constitutes the greatest single threat to Jewish continuity today.

Symptom

I also mentioned the cover letter, written by rabbi by Rabbi Irving Greenberg, President of the
Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation, the sponsor of this new study. But now its time to quote some more from this letter: "Let it be clear. We do not believe that the act of intermarriage has an inexorable, determined assimilationist outcome. We (at JLN) believe that intermarriage is a symptom more than a cause. In an open society, it cannot be directly fought ? although the value of in-marriage can be upheld. Primarily, Jewish life must be so enriched and Jews offered so much participation in vital education and living experiences that they will prefer in-marriage and if they fall in love with a non-Jew they will encourage conversion or, at least, will choose to raise their children Jewishly ... education, broadly defined and mediated through family and community, has become the only way to motivate people to choose Jewish identity..."

Rabbi Greenberg, with whom I also spoke a couple of days ago, would like people to understand Cohen?s study in a very specific way. He doesn?t "give up" on the intermarried (Cohen previously expressed some doubts about the feasibility of investment in this sector) but rather believe that Jewish institutions need to try and renew their Jewish identity. Thus, he is not focusing his attention on the more "juicy" part of the study ? the one dealing with the "growing gap" ? but rather on the part dealing with the transformational power of Jewish education.

Education

"The results are in: Jewish education works" - writes Cohen. Almost all forms of Jewish education diminish the frequency of intermarriage and elevate adult Jewish engagement. And the more Jewish experiences one has, the better the chances he will remain within the tent. Cohen explains: Someone who went to a supplementary school that met twice a week into adolescence, went to Israel, and attended a Jewish camp can be compared with someone with the same background with no such experiences. The chances that the former would marry a Jewish spouse would increase by 14 percentage points (comparable to reducing the intermarriage rate from 47 percent to 33 percent).

How does he calculate this? In the study he estimates that day school attendance reduces intermarriage by 14 percentage points. The impact of attendance at supplementary school more than once a week is 2 points if continued for more than 6 years; each informal education experience (camping, youth groups, or Israel travel in one's youth) reduces intermarriage by 4 percentage points.

The shortcomings of Jewish education, Cohen writes, rest not so much with an inability to influence participants as with an inability to attract participants. This is where Greenberg sees hope: These results suggest that if we persist and expand the availability of great Jewish experiences we can reverse the demographic/cultural decline of Jewry.

Disagreement

Cohen's tone is sobering and pessimistic. Convincing young Jews to marry within the tribe is crucial. "Only conversion substantially improves the chances that today's intermarried couples will have Jewish grandchildren in two generations," writes Cohen. But there's a "long-term decline in conversion rates, lasting over half a century" that "is smooth and steady."

Greenberg chooses to see the full half of the glass. He just doesn't believe that asking people not to marry 98 percent of the population can provide for better results. Jews will keep finding non-Jewish spouses and Jewish organizations better find ways to incorporate these couples into the tribe. "We need urgent attention to try to find programs that work in this sub-community," he writes.

It is more than just minor disagreement. It is the difference between the optimist and the fatalist - or between the delusional and the realist. The next study that JLN will publish is one that supports the more optimistic view: Intermarried couples in the Boston area show a surprisingly high percentage of Jewish identity. Whether this one study can prove Greenberg's point will be a subject for further debate.


More on this subject on Rosner's Domain:

The in-married Jewish people, the intermarried Jewish people

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?