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Just Jewish!
August 10, 2012 · Filed Under Baum's Blog
In the midst of writing High Holiday sermons (okay, admittedly, I haven’t written them yet, but I’ve been pondering them), I’ve read through a lot of articles that have piled up on my desk (or in my email rather).
One that caught my attention was the Jewish Community Study of New York: 2011. With 5,993 interviews, the study sheds light on New York Jewry. And while New York is unique in many, many ways, there are also things we can extrapolate outside of New York.
What struck me were the data about denominational change. In a nutshell, Conservative and Reform Judaism are decreasing, and Orthodox and “Other” are growing. I’ve always been intrigued by “other” – as that describes a large portion of those who participate in OurJewishCo
mmunity.org. The study point out trends in American religious life – not just in the Jewish community: “the phenomenon of nondenominational or trans-denominational identity has grown, as fewer people identify with established churches and denominations and more abide no single identity in particular” (pg. 120).
This observation parallels the Jewish community. In the New York study, Jewish households that self-identified as religion “none” or “no denomination- just Jewish” grew the fastest (from 15% in 1991 to 37% in 2011). That means that nondenominational households comprise 3 of every 8 Jewish households.
The study’s authors identify some of the factors that may contribute to these stats:
a general decreasing attachment to denominational and other social identities (political party, consumer brands, nations, communities)
a correlation with children of intermarried parents being less likely to associate with a denomination
increasingly porous boundaries that allow people to identify as Jewish without a formal conversion process
As a 30-something year old, I can understand this lack of denominational connection. We have so many opportunities and resources available to us, that we can create a cafeteria style Judaism that speaks to each of us (a little of this, a lot of that, no thanks on those!). We can create a Jewish identity that is authentically our own.
Since so much of Jewish institutional life is built around structure, and specifically denominational structure, it’s an interesting time to see how institutions will adjust. To meet the needs of today’s Jewish community, I don’t think we can expect people to fit into neat and tidy categories. It might be easier for Jewish professionals when it works that way – but it’s not nearly as interesting for participants.
May we each have the opportunity to determine with which aspects of the Jewish experience we can most meaningfully connect.
mmunity.org. The study point out trends in American religious life – not just in the Jewish community: “the phenomenon of nondenominational or trans-denominational identity has grown, as fewer people identify with established churches and denominations and more abide no single identity in particular” (pg. 120).
This observation parallels the Jewish community. In the New York study, Jewish households that self-identified as religion “none” or “no denomination- just Jewish” grew the fastest (from 15% in 1991 to 37% in 2011). That means that nondenominational households comprise 3 of every 8 Jewish households.
The study’s authors identify some of the factors that may contribute to these stats:
a general decreasing attachment to denominational and other social identities (political party, consumer brands, nations, communities)
a correlation with children of intermarried parents being less likely to associate with a denomination
increasingly porous boundaries that allow people to identify as Jewish without a formal conversion process
As a 30-something year old, I can understand this lack of denominational connection. We have so many opportunities and resources available to us, that we can create a cafeteria style Judaism that speaks to each of us (a little of this, a lot of that, no thanks on those!). We can create a Jewish identity that is authentically our own.
Since so much of Jewish institutional life is built around structure, and specifically denominational structure, it’s an interesting time to see how institutions will adjust. To meet the needs of today’s Jewish community, I don’t think we can expect people to fit into neat and tidy categories. It might be easier for Jewish professionals when it works that way – but it’s not nearly as interesting for participants.
May we each have the opportunity to determine with which aspects of the Jewish experience we can most meaningfully connect.
- Gostas disto.
- Luís Magalhães In Judaism, a b'rakhah (Hebrew ברכה; plural b'rakhot; related to the word baruch) is a blessing, usually recited at a specific moment during a ceremony or other activity.
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