Jewish culture holding fast

Being Jewish has always been considered equal parts cultural and religious.

Researchers are now finding it to be statistically true.

In a Pew Study released earlier this month, American Jews were surveyed to assess their Jewish practice, cultural identification and faith ideologies.

What it found was that, among other things, the religion of Judaism is fading fast.

One in five Jews, according to the survey, now identify as having no religion. This means that, while they continue to identify as Jewish, they do not actively practice Judaism.

When assessed based on age, the numbers show that the older the participant in the survey, the more likely they were to identify as religiously and culturally Jewish.  

This isn’t good news for the future of Judaism.

One of the main reasons for this is intermarriage. Ninety-six percent of Jews surveyed who also have a Jewish spouses have chosen to raise their children Jewish, whereas couples with one non-Jewish spouse only raise their children in Jewish households 20 percent of the time.

The trend of Americans moving away from religious identification is not exclusively Jewish. Religious disaffiliation is actually exactly equal among all Americans 18 to 29 years old, at about 32 percent.

So does American Jewry need to panic? Or do religious trends country-wide make the results of the survey simply the way thing are moving in America?

The reality is that Judaism is far more susceptible to the effects of declining observance. The Jewish population has already shrunk to less than 2 percent of Americans. If Judaism is to continue to be the strong culture and strong ideology that it has been for centuries, then it is imperative that something change.

That being said, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

When asked what it means to be Jewish, the leading answers were to remember the Holocaust (73 percent of respondents), leading ethical and moral lifestyles (69 percent) and working for justice and equality (56 percent).

These are the core values of what it means to be Jewish. Although identifying as religiously Jewish is in decline, Judaism is still alive in its intent and meaning in the lives of Americans.

This brings a sense of hope. Religious identity may be changing, but morality and pursuit of justice are not.

As long as Judaism, and religion as a whole, continue to be ideologies that make humanity better, things are going to be OK. It is the obligation, though, of those who
identify as religious to maintain the homogeneity that keeps each religion as a viable option for its practitioners.

­— azoot@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Austin Zoot on Twitter @austinzoot12.