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Illustrates how and why Jewish denominational preferences are more a matter of individual choice than family heritage.
Having a religious preference and expressing it via a denominational choice is a fundamental way Americans relate to their society. Similarly, American 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.
List of Tables and Figures
American Jewish Society in the 1990s: An Introduction
Barry A. Kosmin and Sidney Goldstein
Foreword
Andrew Greeley
Preface
PART I
1. Denominations in American Religious Life
Chapter Preview
2. A Sociohistorical Overview of American Jewish Denominations
The First Jewish Denomination: Reform Judaism
The Counter Reformation: Orthodox Judaism
The Centrist Denomination: Conservative Judaism
Denominational Development in Historical Retrospect
Denominational Differences: Homosexuality as a Case in Point
The Social Psychology of American Jewish Denominationalism
PART II
3. A General Description of the Adherents of American Jewish Denominations
The Two Surveys
The Population of Interest
Characterisitcs Associated with Differing Denomiational Preferences
Demographic and Socioeconomic Concomitants of Denominational Preferences
Religious and Jewish Community Involvement: 1971 and 1990
Consequential Dimensions of Denominational Preference
Jewish Denominations within the Context of America's Denominational Structure
4. The Components and Consequences of Jewish Involvement
The Models
5. Jewish Denominational Switching: Permeable Boundaries among Jews in the United States
Denominational Switching among American Jews
Concomitants of Denominational Switching
6. Denominational Preferences and Intermarriage: Permeable Boundaries between Jews and Non-Jews
Intermarriage and Denominational Preference
Intermarriages Before and After 1970
Variables Associated with Intermarriage
Raising Jewish Children
Jewish Community Size and Intermarriage
PART III
7. A Look toward the Future: Jewish Fertility, Births, and Denominational Preference
Jewish Religiosity and Fertility
A Fertility Projection: A Look at the Future
8. Summation, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Summary of Major Findings
The Challenge of Americanization
Recommendations for the Denominations
Closing Comments
Appendix A. Methodology of CJF 1990 National Jewish Population Survey
Joseph Waksberg
Appendix B. Total Sample Errors and the Comparison of the 1971 and 1990 Surveys
Appendix C. Model Indices Cited in Chapter 4
Appendix D. Computation of the Projection in Chapter 7, Table 7.2
Notes
References
Subject Index
Name Index