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WHAT THE RESEARCH DOES AND DOESN'T SAY ABOUT JEWISH AFFILIATION Rabbi Zachary I. Heller is the Associate Director of the Wilstein Institute of Jewish Policy Studies, a resident affiliate of Hebrew College with offices in Newton, Los Angeles and Boca Raton. Before joining the Institute, he served as President of the World Council of Synagogues and on the boards of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization. Surveying recent research on emerging trends in Jewish affiliation, Rabbi Heller frames the ongoing dialogue among sociologists, policymakers, theologians and Jewish community leaders regarding synagogue membership, denominational choice and the basic definition of Jewish identity.
In classic rabbinic Judaism, Jewishness was determined by one criterion—someone either born to a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism through a normative process. Historically, the outer world cooperated in keeping Jews within the fold, because the bounds of religious and ethnic identity were not easily escaped except by forced or voluntary formal conversion to another religion. The external pressures of antisemitism, which defined Jewish identity coercively, provided added impetus to communal cohesion. In our open society, new options exist for self-identification among those who do not feel bound by a normative Jewish legal system but, rather, view their Jewishness—and the parameters of its expression—as an individual choice. A MATTER OF PERSONAL CHOICE In their acclaimed study, The Jew Within (Wilstein Institute, 1998; University of Indiana Press, 2001), Steven M. Cohen and Arnold M. Eisen demonstrated how the notion of community as the organizing factor in Jewish identity has often been superceded by individualism in American society. At one extreme are those who champion behavior and values as matters of personal choice; at the other, those who accept traditional norms that determine their entire way of life. Between these two polar philosophies of Jewish life and identity, a wide range of views exists. The primary definition of Judaism for most American Jews is religious, even though only a minority of Jews in America are members of a synagogue at any one time. However, a majority affiliate with a synagogue, whatever the denomination, at some point in their lives. Many studies note that specific synagogue affiliation is not necessarily a predictable measure of ritual or calendar observance. Additionally, trends in synagogue affiliation are changing. In a Wilstein Institute study done for STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal) in 2000, we noted that the choice of synagogue membership is only partially influenced by national denominational ties, with local factors—geography, charismatic clergy and social relationships—playing a significant role. The recent growth of non- or transdenominational synagogues and the long-term effect of the Havurah movement that began in the 1960s have yet to be evaluated quantitatively—but the trend is just beginning to have an impact on Jewish life in America. The primary definition of Judaism for most American Jews is religious, even though only a minority of Jews in America are members of a synagogue at any one time. NEW LINKS TO JEWISHNESS Is the fact that a large percentage of Jews are not synagogue members or do not identify with a denominational approach to Judaism an indicator of a lack of Jewish identity? Or does it point to new factors that may redefine what it means to be Jewish in America? Many American Jews find other links to Jewishness that may be described as "national," ethnic or cultural. Bruce Phillips, a Wilstein Institute senior scholar, notes that "over the past decade a paradox has emerged in the sociological study of American Jews. Quantitatively, formal Jewish connections such as organizational membership, volunteering and synagogue membership are on the decline . . . but there is anecdotal evidence that other Jewish cultural activities are flourishing." There are still those for whom Jewish identity is defined by the external factors of perceived antisemitism or threats to Israel's security. Zionism may be the pivotal issue of Jewish identity for some. For others, Jewish cultural and historic associations in the intellectual realm—including explorations of Jewish history, philosophy and contemporary social issues as well as art, music, fiction or films with Jewish themes—provide the frame of reference for their Jewish identity. For adults in their twenties and thirties, social and ethnic factors, spirituality and American Jewish pop culture influence their search for new modes of Jewish identity and expression—a process of self-identification within a larger culture always in transition. THE INTERMARRIAGE FACTOR One must also consider intermarriage as a factor in the portrait of contemporary American Jewish identity. Demographers vary in their assessment of this phenomenon and how it influences the process of defining Jewish identity. This holds true whether designing, analyzing or interpreting the National Jewish Population Study of 1990 (or the one scheduled for Spring 2003) or similar studies. Current Jewish responses to intermarriage range from condemnations from among those who view it as a Jewish tragedy to open acceptance by those who see it as but another in a series of personal choices—not subject to external judgment. Our researchers are not always certain how intermarried couples define themselves, or what about Jewish life attracts or distances them. A major Wilstein project is under way to examine this question. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, the outer world is not imposing an inescapable Jewish identity, even for those whose Jewishness can be traced back through generations. Thus new possible patterns of Jewish expression are emerging—new choices regarding modes of Jewish identity and new portals to Jewish connections. It is, indeed, a matter of personal choice! So how do we address the varieties of Jewish expression that exemplify what Mordecai M. Kaplan termed "Judaism as a civilization" in his classic book of the same title? The recent growth of transdenominational synagogues and the long-term effect of the Havurah movement have yet to be evaluated quantitatively—but the trend is beginning to have an impact on Jewish life in America. The challenge is to embrace the best of contemporary Jewish life rooted in Jewish tradition—perpetuating Jewish knowledge yet transcending the limitations of denominational and other competing frames of reference when addressing the hard questions of Jewish continuity. While some see this as a challenge, even a threat, others see it as an opportunity. Simon Rawidowicz's famous essay, "Israel: The Ever Dying People," reminds us that different generations have overcome both internal and external threats to a Jewish future and that "optimism and pessimism are only expressions or indications of our fears, doubts, hopes and desires. . . . Yet, what we need now is a dynamic Jewish realism that will see our reality." |
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Who is a Jew and what is Jewishness are questions that reflect the complexity of contemporary Jewish life.