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Jewish Connections

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At the heart of NJPS are findings related to Jewish connections, including Jewish identity, participation in Jewish religious, cultural and ethnic life, affiliation with communal organizations, Jewish education and ties to Israel. A selection of approximately two dozen indicators of Jewish connections demonstrates the patterns of strengths, challenges and diversity that characterize the American Jewish population (see Table 7).

Most American Jewish adults observe in some way the High Holidays,* Passover and Chanukah. Majorities also read a Jewish newspaper or magazine* or books with Jewish content,* regard being Jewish as very important,* and report that half or more of their close friends are Jewish. Taken together, these findings point to widespread engagement in Jewish family life around certain holidays, cultural involvement, an inner commitment to being Jewish, and significant Jewish friendship ties. In contrast, smaller proportions – generally between a quarter and a third – report involvement in other religious and communal activities. Among these are always or usually lighting Shabbat candles,* keeping kosher at home,* attending religious services monthly or more,* belonging to a JCC* or other Jewish organization,* making a personal or household contribution to Jewish federation campaigns,* volunteering under Jewish auspices,* participating in adult Jewish education programs,* and having visited Israel two or more times.* Between these two extremes are a moderate proportion of American Jews, from about a third to nearly a half, who engage in a variety of Jewish behaviors. Most prominent among these are belonging to a synagogue either personally or as a household* (46%). Among those who belong to a synagogue, they divide as follows: 38% Reform, 33% Conservative, 22% Orthodox, 2% Reconstructionist, and 5% other types.

In addition, moderate proportions of Jews have visited Israel at least once, make a personal or household donation to a Jewish cause outside the federation system, use the Internet for Jewish purposes,* and participate in a variety of cultural activities such as watching a movie or listening to a tape, CD or record* with Jewish content. In short, the diversity of possibilities for Jewish engagement is as great as the diversity of levels of engagement.  Selective types of connections consistently appeal to large proportions of Jews, while other forms of engagement remain the province of those who are more religious, communally involved and culturally active.

Regional variations     |     Over-time continuity and change     |     Communal affiliation     |     Israel     |     Philanthropy     |     Jewish education

* Topics with asterisks refer to respondents who answered the survey's long form, representing a population of 4.3 million Jewish adults and children.