Jewish Choices: American Jewish DenominationalismAmerican Jews have divided their religion into four parts-Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and no preference Jews. This book focuses on how Jewish lifestyles are expressed through denominational affiliation. The development of American Jewish denominations is viewed as more a matter of individual choice than family heritage. The characteristics of individual adherents of the three major denominations vary systematically as does one's involvement both in local Jewish communities and in the community-at-large. The authors show that as one goes from Orthodox to no preference Jews, the extent of religious expression, ethnic attachments, and Jewish community involvement declines. They project the distribution of denominational preference in 2010 and conclude with recommendations for those who wish to see Jewish identity survive and thrive in America. |
Contents
Denominations in American Religious Life | 3 |
Chapter Preview | 11 |
A Sociohistorical Overview of American Jewish Denominations | 15 |
Orthodox Judaism | 18 |
Conservative Judaism | 21 |
Denominational Development in Historical Retrospect | 24 |
The Social Psychology of American Jewish Denominationalism | 28 |
PART II | 31 |
Intermarriage and Denominational Preference | 94 |
Intermarriages Before and After 1970 | 99 |
Variables Associated with Intermarriage | 100 |
Raising Jewish Children | 108 |
Jewish Community Size and Intermarriage | 109 |
PART III | 113 |
A Look Toward the Future Jewish Fertility Births and Denominational Preference | 115 |
A Look at the Future | 119 |
A General Description of the Adherents of American Jewish Denominations | 33 |
The Population of Interest | 34 |
Characteristics Associated with Differing Denominational Preferences | 39 |
Demographic and Socioeconomic Concomitants of Denominational Preference | 42 |
1971 and 1990 | 48 |
Consequential Dimension of Denominational Preference | 50 |
Jewish Denominations within the Context of Americas Denominational Structure | 54 |
The Components and Consequences of Jewish Involvement | 63 |
The Models | 65 |
Jewish Denominational Switching Permeable Boundaries Among Jews in the United States | 77 |
Denominational Switching Among American Jews | 78 |
Concomitants of Denominational Switching | 83 |
Denominational Preferences and Intermarriage Permeable Boundaries Between Jews and NonJews | 93 |
Summation Conclusions and Recommendations | 123 |
The Challenge of Americanization | 128 |
Recommendations for the Denominations | 130 |
Closing Comments | 137 |
Methodology of CJF 1990 National Jewish Population Survey | 147 |
Total Survey Errors and the Comparison of the 1971 and 1990 Surveys | 169 |
Model Indices Cited in Chapter 4 | 181 |
Computation of the Projections in Chapter 7 Table 72 | 187 |
Notes | 191 |
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Common terms and phrases
adherents adult Jewish American Jews analysis beta bias born into Jewish chapter Christian Conservative denomination Conservative Jews Conservative Judaism conversionary couples denom denominational preference denominational switching denominationalism fertility halakha Hanukkah home religious practices homogeneous marriages increase indicate individual interviews involvement in Jewish Israel Jewish adults Jewish background Jewish community Jewish denominations Jewish education Jewish families Jewish households Jewish involvement Jewish Population Survey Jewish primary groups Jewish religious Jewry Lazerwitz married modern movement National Jewish Population NJPS non-Jewish non-Jews nonresponse NTAC number of children one's organizations Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism percentage pref preference and synagogue Protestants questions rabbis raised Recontact Reform denomination Reform Jews Reform Judaism regression religion religious preference religious services reported respondent's response rate sampling error scores screening secular social society spouse statistical switchers syna synagogue attendance synagogue members synagogue membership tion variables voluntary associations weighting women