Jewish Choices: American Jewish Denominationalism

240 Pages·1998·7.964 MB·English

by  Bernard Lazerwitz, J. Alan Winter, Arnold Dashefsky, Ephram Tabory, Bernard Lazerwitz

Jewish
Choices
SUNY Series in American Jewish Society in the 1990s
Barry A. Kosmin and Sidney Goldstein, editors
Jewish
Choices
American Jewish Denominationalism
BERNARD LAZERWITZ
J.
ALAN WINTER
ARNOLD DASHEFSKY
EPHRAIM TABORY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
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State University of New York Press, Albany
© 1998 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jewish choices : American Jewish denominationalism I Bernard Lazerwitz
... [et al.].
p. em. - (SUNY series in American Jewish society in the
1990s)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-3581-4 (hardcover: alk. paper).-ISBN 0-7914-3582-2
(pbk. : alk. paper)
I. Judaism-United States. 2. Reform Judaism-United States.
3. Conservative Judaism-United States. 4. Orthodox Judaism-United
States. 5. Jews-United States-Social conditions. I. Lazerwitz,
Bernard Melvin, 1926- . II. Series.
BM205.J48 1997
296.8 '3 '0973-dc21 97-3079
CIP
r97
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
To our grandparents, parents, and teachers from whom we derived our Jewish
choices; to our wives with whom we have shared them; and to our children
and their spouses and to our grandchildren, for whom we strive to illuminate
a path to similar choices.
Contents
List of Tables and Figures ix
American Jewish Society in the 1990s: An Introduction Xlll
BARRY A. KOSMIN AND SIDNEY GOLDSTEIN
Foreword xvii
ANDREW GREELEY
Preface XIX
PART I
1. Denominations in American Religious Life 3
Chapter Preview
2. A Sociohistorical Overview of American Jewish Denominations 15
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 33
The Two Surveys
The Population of Interest
Characteristics Associated with Differing
Denominational Preferences
Demographic and Socioeconomic Concomitants of
Denominational Preferences
Religious and Jewish Community Involvement: 1971 and 1990
Consequential Dimensions of Denominational Preference
VII
VIII JEWISH CHOICES
Jewish Denominations within the Context of
Americas Denominational Structure
4. The Components and Consequences of Jewish Involvement 63
The Models
5. Jewish Denominational Switching: Permeable Boundaries
among Jews in the United States 77
Denominational Switching among American Jews
Concomitants of Denominational Switching
6. Denominational Preferences and Intermarriage:
Permeable Boundaries between Jews and Non-Jews 93
Intermarriage and Denominational Preference
Intermarriages Before and After 1970
Variables Associated with Intermarriage
Raising Jewish Children
Jewish Community Size and Intermarriage
PART Ill
7. A Look toward the Future: Jewish Fertility, Births,
and Denominational Preference I I 5
Jewish Religiosity and Fertility
A Fertility Projection: A Look at the Future
8. Summation, Conclusions, and Recommendations 123
Summary of Major Findings
The Challenge of Americanization
Recommendations for the Denominations
Closing Comments
Appendix A. Methodology of CJF I 990 National
Jewish Population Survey I47
JOSEPH WAKSBERG
Appendix B. Total Sample Errors and the Comparison
of the I 97 I and I 990 Surveys I 69
Appendix C. Model Indices Cited in Chapter 4 I 8 I
Appendix D. Computation of the Projection in Chapter 7, Table 7.2 I 87
Notes I 91
References I 97
Subject Index 207
Name Index 213
List of Tables and Figures
Tables
2.1 Phases in American Jewish History: Social Characteristics
and Adjustments 25
3.1 Jewish Adult Denominational Preference and Synagogue
Membership, 1971 and 1990 40
3.2 Percentage of Jewish Adult Synagogue Memberships by
Denominational Preference, 1971 and 1990 41
3.3 Demographic Characteristics by Adult Jewish Denominational
Preferences and Synagogue Membership, NJPS, 1990 43
3.4 Contrasting Past Synagogue Members with Never Synagogue
Members for the Conservative and Reform
Denominations, 1990 46
3.5 Jewish Denominations by Jewish Community Size,
NJPS 1990 49
3.6 Percentage Having High Levels of Jewish Involvement by
Adult Jewish Denominational Preferences, NJPS, 1990 51
3.7 Adults with a High Level of General Community
Involvement and Who Feel Politically Liberal by
Denomination and Synagogue Membership, NJPS, 1990 53
3.8 Comparing Protestants, Catholics, and Jews by Education 56
3.9 Comparing Protestants, Catholics, and Jews by
Religious Attendance 56
3.10 Comparing Protestants, Catholics, and Jews on a
Liberal-Conservative Political Scale 58
3.11 Christian Involvements of Jewish Adults by Denominational
Grouping, NJPS, 1990 59
IX