SPECIAL STUDY ON PARTLY JEWISH JEWS

Transcription

1 SPECIAL STUDY ON PARTLY JEWISH JEWS November 2013 Steven M. Cohen, Jacob B. Ukeles, and Ron Miller A Special Case of America s Fluid Boundaries at Work This special study focuses on those we call partly Jewish Jews, people who identify as partially Jewish, as well as those who identify as Jewish but say that their religion is other than Judaism. These Jews exhibit tenuous ties to Jews and Judaism. They reflect the very porous boundaries that now define Jews within American society. The large population size and distinctive characteristics of those who are partly Jewish may surprise some. Especially in the New York area, where Jews are so significant demographically, culturally, politically, and historically, why does a significant minority of Jews only partially embrace their Jewish identity? And in a place that is so large, diverse, and easy to assimilate into, why do Jews who have embraced other religions continue to identify themselves as Jewish? In the face of such trends, it s worth reflecting for a moment on the massive tendencies toward porosity in American society. To take a step back, we would do well to consider the dual nature of the group boundaries demarcating American Jews. That is, American Jews are distinctive in that they are both an ethnic and religious group. As such, the condition of both ethnicity and religion in America bears directly upon the vitality and continuity of American Jewry. Insofar as ethnicity and religious identity have become more fluid, and insofar as Americans in general have been changing these once primordial social identities, one would expect similar processes among American Jews leading to the emergence of partly Jewish Jews. These are people who come to identify as partly Jewish in the course of moving from the core to periphery of the Jewish population, or by way of new acquisitions to the population who have, in effect, moved in. With respect to ethnicity, notwithstanding America s relative openness to newcomers from a variety of national backgrounds, the larger society has been less receptive to the long-term perpetuation of ethnic ties and community. For years, dating to colonial times, the eventual assimilation and social disappearance of white European-origin ethnic groups has been a

2 2 fundamental assumption of American society. In fact, all European groups even those such as Germans and Irish, far larger demographically than American Jews have experienced fairly rapid assimilation over the generations, as evident in mounting rates of intergroup marriage and residential dispersal. Whereas once some observers thought that non-white groups would be slow to assimilate, recent United States Census reports point to high rates of intermarriage of, and by, Asian-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and African Americans. All of these trends point to what social scientists call the beiging of America. As early as 1991, Mary Water s Ethnic Options, exploring by then well-established trends, observed how Americans of increasingly mixed ancestry felt comfortable choosing their ethnic identities and inventing the content and meaning of those identities. While the dissolution of ethnic groups has long been anticipated, American society has viewed far more favorably the perpetuation of religious identities. In the 1950s, theologian Will Herberg s Protestant-Catholic-Jew argued that ethnic and national-origin identities in America would fade, but that religious identities would survive a reasonable argument to make in the midst of the Eisenhower years, suburban expansion, and the pre-eminence of America s civil religion. On the presumption that everyone had to be something, and that ethnicity lacked deep meaning and high social prestige in America, Herberg argued that people would feel compelled to identify with one of the three major available religious identities (Protestantism, Catholicism, or Judaism with just 3% of the population at the time, Jews merited one third the billing). But, as research conducted just in the last few years has demonstrated, Herberg s vision of the solidity and continuity in religious identities has been ephemeral, to say the least. The Pew U.S. Religious Landscape Study of 2008 demonstrated three master themes in American religious life. More than ever before, people are: changing their religious identities over the course of their lives; marrying across denominational and religious group boundaries; and maintaining multiple religious identities in themselves and their households. Moreover, in American Grace, Robert Putnam and colleagues note the rising number of younger Americans who identify as none religiously, as well as the increasing number who hardly attend religious worship services, if at all. At the same time, increasing numbers of Americans, especially younger adults, are un-churched, lacking any affirming religious identity. All these trends explain and point to the decreasingly compelling nature of religious identity in America: people may have to be something, but they no longer have to be religious, or to identify with one brand of religion. Consistent with these trends are others that speak of the softening of once-solid boundaries and the blurring of once-distinct identities. One supporting trend: over the last twenty years, Protestants increasingly turned to post-denominational and non-denominational churches.

3 3 If Americans are shifting, melding and dropping identities be they ethnic, religious, or otherwise it comes as no surprise that many American Jews (and many New York area Jews) are moving in and out of the Jewish people. With an increasingly porous border separating Jews from others, and with increasingly fluid identities in general, Jews who metaphorically dwell in the Jewish borderland assume increasing social scientific, communal, and policy interest. These are certainly Jews; but they are Jews whose identity as such is only partial or who have assumed identity configurations that cut across once firm and clear boundaries between Jews and non-jews. In light of all these trends in society at large, what can we learn about partly Jewish Jews, those whose very presence testifies to the softening of group boundaries and the dynamism of social identities as it applies to New York area Jewry? How many are there? How do they differ from fully Jewish Jews? How were they generated? Defining To identify Jewish households eligible for the full survey, the Jewish Community Study of New York asked a series of screening questions beginning with the following: Do you consider yourself Jewish, partially Jewish, or not Jewish? who answered Jewish or partially Jewish qualified for the full survey and were later asked: In terms of religion, do you consider Judaism to be your religion, do you not have a religion, or do you identify with another religion? If the initial screening question resulted in a response of not Jewish or not sure, further questions were asked to assess the eligibility of the household to be interviewed. These follow-up questions asked whether respondents had a mother or father who considered themselves to be Jewish when the respondent was growing up, and if yes for either parent, the respondents were asked their own current religion. If they said their religion was none or atheist, but they had a Jewish parent, they were then asked: Some people who have a Jewish parent, but who say they do not have a religion or are an atheist or an agnostic sometimes view themselves as connected to the Jewish people, or identify as a non-religious Jew or a secular Jew. Would you describe yourself that way? who responded Jewish or partially Jewish here went on to the main survey. If the respondent did not self-identify as Jewish after these questions, they were then asked whether there was any other adult in the household who considers him or herself to be

4 4 Jewish or partially Jewish. Non-Jewish respondents were interviewed if another adult in the household considered themselves to be Jewish and the household thus qualified as a Jewish household. This approach cast a wide net for including Jewish households so as not to lose the opportunity to interview all potentially eligible respondents, and any ambiguous or problematic cases were than reviewed after the survey. A total of 6,274 interviews with potentially Jewish households were completed using this wide net approach. After review of ambiguous cases, a total of 281 interviewed households were judged to be non-jewish and these surveys were removed from the completed interview data file. (See Jewish Community Study of New York: 2011 Methodology Report for more detail.) In total, about 95% of all 5,993 respondents in the final data file were Jewish, and 5% were not Jewish. This corresponds with a weighted population estimate of 694,000 Jewish households, with 661,000 respondents who were Jewish (including those who consider themselves partially Jewish ), and 33,000 non-jewish respondents. For purposes of this special study, we define a partly Jewish respondent as one who qualified as a Jewish respondent and meets either (or both) of two conditions: 1) Considers him/herself as other than simply Jewish. Of these, most (79,000) answer, partially Jewish; a few (4,000) say, not Jewish, but identify their religion as Judaism; and even fewer (2,000) are not sure. The not Jewish and not sure were classified as Jewish because they reported a Jewish parent, or two, and did not declare that their religion was other than Judaism. 2) Considers him/herself Jewish or partially Jewish, but in terms of religion identifies with a religion other than Judaism (usually Christianity) or, in a small number of cases, as Jewish and another religion. About 42,000 households (weighted) have respondents that so qualify. Of these, 39,000 profess Christianity or another religion while not identifying their religion as Jewish. The remaining 3,000 say they are Jewish and something else. A total of 99,000 Jewish respondents are partly Jewish, meeting either of the two criteria, with 28,000 meeting both of them. Those who are Jewish but not partly Jewish are designated for this study, fully Jewish. respondents consider themselves Jewish (without qualification) and see their religion as either Judaism or none. For clarity s sake, excluded from this analysis (subsequent to the first table below) are the small number of households in which non-jews were the respondents, almost all of whom were married to Jews both partly and fully Jewish spouses. On a weighted basis, non-jewish respondents amounted to less than 5% of all respondents.

5 5 Exhibit 1: Religion of Respondent by Whether Considers Self Jewish, for Jewish and Non- Jewish * Considers Self Jewish in Screener? Religion of Respondent Not Not Total Jewish Partially Sure Jewish Jewish Religion Judaism 497,100 25,300 1,100 4, ,600 Respondent Judaism + Other 1,000 1, ,900 None 64,700 25, ,000 Christianity or Other 13,200 26, ,400 Subtotal 576,100 79,200 1,600 4, ,900 Non-Jewish Religion Judaism + Respondent** Other None <100 6,900 6,900 Christianity or Other ,230 26,300 Subtotal ,200 33,300 Total Religion Judaism 497,100 25,300 1,100 4, ,555 Judaism + Other 1,000 1, ,000 None 64,700 25, ,900 97,900 Christianity or Other 13,200 26, ,200 65,800 Total 576,100 79,200 1,700 37, ,200 * who are categorized as partly Jewish are highlighted. ** Non-Jewish respondents were included in the survey because another adult in the household was reported to consider themselves Jewish.

6 6 Few Identify Simply as Jewish, or With Judaism as Their Religion The vast majority of partly Jewish respondents (80%) see themselves as partially Jewish. Exhibit 2: Considers Self Jewish, Partially Jewish, or Not Jewish, for and Fully Jewish Considers Self Jewish in Screener? * ** Jewish 14% 100% Partially Jewish 80% 0% Not Sure 2% 0% Not Jewish 4% 0% * : Identify as partially Jewish; consider self Jewish, but identify their religion as Christian or other non-jewish; consider self not Jewish, but say their religion is Judaism; or are not sure if Jewish, but have a Jewish parent and do not have another religion. ** : All other Jews, that is, people who consider themselves Jewish without qualifying their claim as partially Jewish, and who identify their religion as Jewish or as none. Of partly Jewish respondents, 40% see their religion as Christianity or another non-jewish religion and 26% respond none. While 31% identify their religion as Judaism, this minority may be compared with 88% among fully Jewish respondents. Exhibit 3: Current Religion of and Religion Judaism 31% 88% Judaism + Other 3% 0% None 26% 12% Christianity or Other 40% 0% In short, as compared with the fully Jewish, the partly Jewish are far more likely to express some qualification as to whether they consider themselves Jewish, and they are far more likely to indicate their religious identity is other than Judaism.

7 7 Proportionately Few Jews in Households Households in which the respondent is partly Jewish are home to fewer Jews on average than other Jewish households (1.6 vs for households of fully Jewish respondents). Correlatively, 158,000 Jews live in households of partly Jewish respondents, or about 10% of the entire Jewish population. Exhibit 4: Number of Jews and Number of All People (Jews and Non-Jews) in Households of and Household Type Number of Jews* Number of All People (Jews and Non-Jews)* Households of Mean Total 158, ,000 Households of Mean Total 1,328,000 1,414,000 * Total of both groups combined is less than the estimated 1,538,000 Jews and 1,769,000 people in Jewish households in the eight-county area because households with non-jewish respondents are omitted from this analysis. In households of partly Jewish respondents, 76% of household members are Jewish as compared with 95% in households of fully Jewish respondents. In other words, the proportion that is non-jewish is almost five times as large in households of partly Jewish respondents as in households of fully Jewish respondents (24% vs. 5%). Exhibit 5: Percent of Household Members Who Are Jewish in Households of and Household Type Percentage of Household Members Who Are Jewish Households of 76% Households of 95% Most of the Have Non-Jewish Parents or Intermarried Parents The affinity of partly Jewish Jews with non-jewish family members extends to their own parents. Of partly Jewish respondents, a third derived from in-married Jewish parents. In contrast, fully 92% of fully Jewish respondents have in-married Jewish parents. As many as 42% of the partly Jewish respondents come from intermarried parents, while a quarter report that neither of their parents was Jewish.

8 8 Exhibit 6: Number of Jewish Parents for and Number of Jewish Parents No Jewish Parents 26% 3% One Jewish Parent 42% 5% Two Jewish Parents 33% 92% Many of the are Jews by Personal Choice The large proportion of respondents with no Jewish parents among the partly Jewish is entirely consistent with the large presence of people termed, Jews by personal choice. As will be recalled from the Comprehensive Report, Jews who have no Jewish parents come in two varieties. The more familiar category is converts those who have become Jewish by way of formal conversion under rabbinic auspice. The less familiar, and far more frequent variant it turns out, are Jews by personal choice. These are born-non-jews who have acquired a Jewish identity (often identifying as partly Jewish) in ways other than by conversion, generally as a result of some family connection. Exhibit 7: Jewish Qualifications of and Jewish Qualification Jews by Religion, With One to Two Jewish 26% 86% Parents Ethnically Jewish, but Religion None or 48% 11% Not Judaism, With One to Two Jewish Parents Conversionary Jews (No Jewish Parents) 3% 1% Jews by Personal Choice (No Jewish Parents) 23% 2% Among fully Jewish respondents, just 2% are Jews by personal choice. Among partly Jewish respondents, the figure reaches 23%. In short, it s among the partly Jewish that we find a significant representation of Jews by personal choice. And for people without Jewish parents, becoming Jewish without conversion (by personal choice) is the overwhelming choice for the partly Jewish, and even the preferred choice for the fully Jewish.

9 9 Most Jews Report No Jewish Denominational Upbringing Among those who are partly Jewish and have Jewish parents, a slim majority (54%) were raised outside the three major denominations, generally with no denominational identity. In contrast, just 15% of fully Jewish respondents were so reared. While not determinative and definitive in and of itself, the very large number of those with non-denominational childhoods suggests relatively weaker Jewish socialization. Exhibit 8: Denomination Raised, of Those Raised as Jews, for and Denomination Raised Orthodox 12% 31% Conservative 14% 32% Reform 21% 22% Jewish & Other 54% 15% Most of the Had No Jewish Schooling The contrasts in Jewish schooling experiences between partly and fully Jewish respondents are truly startling. Even when we limit the comparison to those raised by Jewish parents (a stipulation that diminishes the gaps in Jewish schooling between the two groups), we find that the fully Jewish attended Jewish day schools far more often than did the partly Jewish (31% vs. 7%). At the other extreme of the schooling continuum, under a sixth (16%) of the fully Jewish reported never having attended a Jewish school, supplementary or day. In contrast, almost four times as many of the partly Jewish (60%) so reported. Exhibit 9: Jewish Education of Raised as Jews for and Fully Jewish Jewish Education of Raised as Jews, Main Type Day School 7% 31% Religious School, Twice+ Weekly 9% 29% Religious School, Weekly 13% 20% Tutor 12% 4% None 60% 16%

10 10 The Combined Effect of In-Marriage and Jewish Schooling Upon Producing Partly Jewish Jews The effects of parental in-marriage and Jewish schooling upon the likelihood of emerging as a partly Jewish Jew are truly startling. At one extreme, we find that of those with in-married parents who attended day school, 2% emerged as partly Jewish respondents. In contrast, for children of intermarried parents with no Jewish schooling, over two thirds (71%) now identify as partly Jewish. Among the now-adult children of the in-married and intermarried, Jewish schooling strongly predicts the likelihood of emerging as partly Jewish. For those with in-married parents and day school education, 2% identify as partly Jewish. The figure climbs to 5% for those with supplemental Jewish schooling and 17% for those with no Jewish schooling. Exhibit 10: Percent of Jewish-Raised Who Are Jews by Parents In-Marriage and the Jewish Schooling Parent s In-Marriage Status and Jewish Schooling Respondent In-Married Parents, Respondent Went to Day School 2% In-Married Parents, Respondent Went to Supplementary School 5% In-Married Parents, Respondent Had No Jewish School 17% Intermarried Parents, Respondent Went to Any Jewish School 36% Intermarried Parents, Respondent Had No Jewish School 71% Total 14% Among the adult children of intermarried parents, Jewish schooling in their childhood years is associated strongly with reduction in the chances of emerging as partly Jewish. Just 36% of those with any kind of schooling (then) qualify as partly Jewish (now), as compared with twice that number (71%) of those with no Jewish schooling in their childhood years. To be sure, it would be simplistic to interpret these patterns as evidence of the causal impact of Jewish schools and schooling in preventing Jews from identifying just partially as Jewish, or from embracing another religion in addition to or instead of Judaism. Rather, the schooling patterns likely reflect differences in parental Jewish engagement, as more Jewishly committed parents tended to ensure that their children received some form of Jewish schooling. Based on other research, schools are an indicator of parents levels of engagement, not independently influential on the level of engagement of their graduates.

11 11 However, the patterns do point to the substantial risk for Jewish continuity purposes associated with intermarriage in particular, and weak Jewish upbringing in general. They strongly suggest that the reports of low rates with which intermarried parents raise their children as Jews is not the end of the story. In all likelihood, not only are few intermarried parents raising their children as Jews, but the Jews they are raising stand a good chance of considering themselves as just partly Jewish, still within the Jewish population, but with (as we shall see) low rates of Jewish engagement. The risk of exit from Jewish identification is even more pronounced with respect to the types of intermarried parents who fail to provide their children with a Jewish schooling, a group that is very different from the small number who join congregations and are accessible to rabbis and more Jewishly engaged friends and family. Many Non-Denominational, Very Few Orthodox or Conservative Consistent with their upbringing, and emblematic of their distance from Jewish life, three quarters (74%) of partly Jewish respondents identify with no Jewish denomination (or with a non-jewish religion). Less than half as many (31%) of fully Jewish respondents are so defined. Correlatively, just 13% of partly Jewish respondents identify as Orthodox or Conservative. In contrast, more than three times as many (43%) of fully Jewish respondents associate with these two more traditional denominations. Exhibit 11: Current Denomination of and Current Denomination Orthodox 5% 22% Conservative 8% 21% Reform 14% 25% Reconstructionist <1% 1% No Denomination, No Religion, or Non- 74% 31% Jewish Religion Jewish Engagement: Most Very Low, Hardly Any High or Very High The contrasts in Jewish engagement between the households of partly Jewish respondents and those of the fully Jewish are truly startling. On the five-tiered index of Jewish

12 12 engagement introduced in the Comprehensive Report (see page 118 for a full description), just 2% of the households of partly Jewish respondents score very high; among households of fully Jewish respondents, 23% reach that level. The partly Jewish are more than five times less likely than the fully Jewish to score at least high (8% versus 45%). At the other extreme, a slight majority (51%) of the partly Jewish score very low, more than four times as many as among the fully Jewish (just 11%). In other words, not only do the partly Jewish respondents often say that they are partially Jewish or cross the religious boundary over into another religion, and not only do they live their lives socially and geographically distant from other Jews, they also are only marginally engaged in Jewish life. Exhibit 12: Index of Jewish Engagement in Households of and Level of Jewish Engagement* Households of Partly Jewish Households of Fully Jewish Very High (10 12) 2% 23% High (7 9) 6% 22% Moderate (4 6) 14% 26% Low (2 3) 28% 18% Very Low (0 1) 51% 11% * Numbers in parentheses refer to how many of the 12 measures on the index are affirmed by the respondent or household. The items are attending a program or event at a YM-YWHA or Jewish community center; belonging to a synagogue; belonging to a Jewish organization; usually or always attending a Passover seder; usually or always lighting Shabbat candles; usually or always lighting Hanukkah candles; feeling it s very important to be part of a Jewish community; volunteering for Jewish organizations or causes; having closest friends who are mostly or all Jewish; and contributing to any Jewish charity, including UJA-Federation of New York. Few Mark Holidays or Shabbat, or Belong, or Jewishly Educate their Children On every individual Jewish engagement item, the households of partly Jewish respondents trail those of the fully Jewish. On some items, reflecting certain key dimensions of Jewish engagement, the gaps between the two types of households are especially large. One such dimension entails holiday and Shabbat observance. For example, households with partly Jewish respondents compare with those of the fully Jewish for usually lighting Hanukkah candles at 30% versus 75%. Another dimension entails belonging, both formal (e.g., synagogue membership) and informal (e.g., feeling part of a Jewish community). The gap for having mostly Jewish friends is especially dramatic: 14% versus 62%.

13 13 In terms of behavior, on a few items we find relatively narrow gaps separating the partly and fully Jewish. These items are: participating in a Jewish cultural event, going to a JCC, sometimes accessing Jewish websites, and studying Jewish material on one s own or informally. In short, cultural and intellectual activities that do not pre-suppose Jewish social belonging, formal or informal, are those areas where partly Jewish Jews are relatively active in Jewish life. Exhibit 13: Frequency of Indicators of Jewish Engagement for and and Their Households Indicators of Jewish Engagement Seder, Someone in Household Usually + Always 27% 78% Hanukkah Candles Lit in Household Usually + Always 30% 75% Yom Kippur, Respondent Fasts All Day 25% 68% Being Jewish Very Important in Respondent s Life 25% 62% Closest Friends Are Mostly Jewish 14% 62% Been to Israel Ever, or Israel-born, Respondent 16% 57% Went to a Jewish Museum or Jewish Cultural Event, Respondent in Past Year 34% 51% Very Important to Be Part of a Jewish Community, Respondent 18% 51% Synagogue Member, Anyone in Household 12% 51% Shabbat Meal, Respondent Participates Sometimes + Regularly 21% 50% Israel, Respondent Feels Very Attached 25% 49% Respondent Talks Regularly About Jewish-Related Topics With Jewish Friends 22% 48% Respondent Feels Part of a Jewish Community a Lot 10% 42% Jewish Websites, Respondent Accesses Sometimes + Regularly 28% 40% Respondent Studies Informally, Alone, With Friend, or With Teacher 29% 39% Shabbat Candles Lit Friday Night in Household Usually + Always 10% 39% Kosher Home 18% 36% Adult Jewish Educational Programs, Respondent Engaged in Past Year 17% 36% JCC: Anyone in Household Went to a Program, Past Year 23% 34% Volunteered for a Jewish Organization, Respondent in Past Year 19% 34% Respondent Attended Services, Monthly+ 5% 28%

14 14 Indicators of Jewish Engagement Jewish Organization, Belong or Regularly Participate, Anyone in Household 8% 27% Online Jewish group, Respondent Belongs 15% 16% Taglit-Birthright Israel Trip, Respondent Participated 1% 15% Reside in the Jewish Borderlands Geography reflects identity. The partly Jewish tend to live in areas where Jews are sparsely settled. Almost a third of them (30%) live in residual areas, parts of the eight counties where too few Jews reside to allow for designation as primary or secondary areas for analysis. In contrast, just 10% of households of fully Jewish respondents are located in residual areas. Other areas in which the partly Jewish are relatively concentrated are Northeast Bronx, Brownstone Brooklyn, and the Long Island City/Astoria/Elmhurst area in Queens. In general, Jews in these areas (and the residual areas) score low on Jewish engagement and high on intermarriage. Exhibit 14: Areas With Relatively Large Concentrations of Households With Area Name Riverdale-Kingsbridge 3% 2% Northeast Bronx* 4% 1% Bronx Residual* 5% 1% Brownstone Brooklyn 3% 1% Canarsie/Mill Basin* 3% 2% Brooklyn Residual* 7% 2% Lower Manhattan East 6% 4% Upper East Side 5% 5% Upper West Side 6% 6% Manhattan Residual* 6% 1% Long Island City/Astoria/Elmhurst Area* 4% 1% Queens Residual* 5% 2% Suffolk Residual* 4% 3% Westchester Residual* 3% 1% * Secondary or residual area. See Jewish Community Study of New York: 2011 Geographic Profile for a definition of primary, secondary, and residual areas of Jewish residence, and for the ZIP-code aggregates that are included in the listed areas.

15 15 More Men Than Women Among the Among partly Jewish respondents, men outnumber women (64%/36%). In contrast, all Jewish respondents are perfectly divided between men and women (50%/50%). The gender imbalance among the partly Jewish comports with several observations that while interesting in their own light can also illuminate the nature of this group and why people in general come to identify as partly Jewish and then continue to identify as such. Exhibit 15: Male/Female Ratios for and Gender Male 64% 50% Female 36% 50% One of the more powerful and ubiquitous findings in the study of religion around the world is that women are more religious and more spiritual than men. Several theories have been advanced for this phenomenon, among them the tendency for women to maintain stronger relationships with family, friends, and community, a tendency that may well translate into stronger and more enduring ties to religious life and community. Another related phenomenon is the tendency for minority group men to out-marry more often (or sooner) than minority women. This gender difference may speak to the greater attachment of women to their ethnic group and, as well, to the greater likelihood of men departing from home, family, friends, and neighborhood. Both observations speak to the social connectedness or lack thereof among partly Jewish Jews. Are Relatively Younger The partly Jewish are younger than the fully Jewish. Most (56%) partly Jewish respondents are under age 50 as compared with 35% of fully Jewish respondents. The age gap derives, undoubtedly, from the linkage of partly Jewish identification with parents intermarriage. Since intermarriage has been mounting over the years, younger Jews are more likely to consider themselves as partly Jewish than older Jews.

16 16 Exhibit 16: Age of and Age % 15% % 20% % 28% % 14% 75+ 9% 23% The Have Lower Levels of Secular Education respondents have lower levels of secular education achievement than those who are fully Jewish. While 39% of the partly Jewish have earned a bachelor s degree, the comparable figure is 56% for fully Jewish respondents. Exhibit 17: Education of and High School Diploma or Less 31% 23% Some College/Associate s Degree 30% 21% Bachelor s Degree 19% 24% Master s Degree 16% 23% Doctoral Degree, M.D., Law, etc. 5% 9% While this in part may reflect the lower age profile of partly Jewish Jews, this finding also speaks to the larger issue of how the partly Jewish differ from other Jews. Relative to American society, Jews exhibit high rates of educational attainment, such that high educational attainment can be considered a Jewish ethnic marker. The relatively low rates of educational attainment among partly Jewish respondents reflect and symbolize the circumstance that they are less ethnically differentiated from the society at large than are the fully Jewish. In a sense, in terms of educational attainment, Jews are deviant from society at large; but with respect to the Jews of New York, partly Jewish Jews are different in that educationally they resemble the larger society. The inference on educational patterns can be extended to other matters. As we have seen with geographic residence, the fully Jewish exhibit social patterns that set them apart from

17 17 others in New York and America. But partly Jewish Jews, in their dwelling on the outer reaches of the boundary between Jews and others, are less likely to share in the sociodemographic configurations that distinguish Jews from others, and they are more likely than the fully Jewish to socio-demographically resemble non-jews. Lower Income in Households of the Consistent with their younger age profile, lower rates of educational attainment, and their tendency to reside in areas with relatively sparse Jewish settlement, partly Jewish respondents report slightly lower household income levels than fully Jewish respondents. Exhibit 18: Income for Households of and Households of Partly Jewish Households of Fully Jewish Under $50,000 48% 42% $50,000 $99,999 27% 29% $100,000 $149,999 13% 15% $150,000 $249,999 8% 8% $250,000+ 5% 7% Households: Many Nonwhite and Biracial Relative to the New York area, Jews are disproportionately white. As this study demonstrated, more Jewish households (12%) contain non-white, Hispanic, or biracial members than commonly believed. The households of the partly Jewish are disproportionately found in this category: more than a third (37%) are non-white, Hispanic, or biracial. In comparison, just 7% of households of the fully Jewish less than a fifth as many as households of partly Jewish respondents are biracial, Hispanic, or non-white. Exhibit 19: Racial Composition of the Households of and Households of Partly Jewish Households of Fully Jewish Biracial, Hispanic, or Non-white Household 37% 7%

18 18 Few Jews on Community Lists Further testimony to the social and communal distinctiveness of those who are partly Jewish is that so few of them appeared on the lists of likely Jews assembled from a variety of community agencies by UJA-Federation in advance of this study. In fact, among households of fully Jewish respondents, 29% (weighted) appeared on these lists; in contrast, among the households of partly Jewish respondents, just 3% were found on these lists. Exhibit 19: Proportion of and That Appeared on Community Lists Gathered for Sampling Federation and Community List Household 3% 29% Conclusion Changes in American society, in particular with respect to ethnicity and religion, along with high rates of intermarriage among non-orthodox Jews over the years have produced a significant and probably growing population of Jews that identify as partly Jewish. Operationally defined as Jews who transcend the conventional social boundaries either by saying they are partially Jewish or by identifying with Christianity or some other non- Jewish religion these partly Jewish Jews do in fact reside in the Jewish borderland in so many respects. More than other Jews They were raised by non-jewish and mixed married parents, with little denominational identities and little Jewish schooling. They came to identify as Jews through personal choice rather than conversion. They exhibit socio-demographic characteristics that set them somewhat apart from other Jews, and that on some dimensions are more similar to non-jews. They reside geographically in Jewish borderlands, areas with relatively few other Jews. Their family relationships include more non-jews and cross racial and ethnic boundaries, and fewer of their closest friends are Jewish. They participate relatively infrequently in conventional Jewish life. For these reasons and more, partly Jewish Jews testify to the increasingly porous boundaries that set Jews apart from others. They embody the fluidity of Jewish life, that is, the tendency for individuals to flow into and out of the Jewish people. They embody the hybridity of contemporary Jewish identity, that is, the phenomenon of combining Jewish identity with

19 19 other identities that were once seen as outside the boundaries of being Jewish. And they embody the malleability of the age, the readiness with which people define the content and meaning of their social identities, be they Jewish or otherwise.

20 20 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Jewish Community Study of New York Committee Scott A. Shay, Chair Laurie Blitzer, Beth Finger, Aileen Gitelson, Billie Gold, Cindy Golub, Judah Gribetz, John A Herrmann, Jr., Vivien Hidary, Edward M. Kerschner, Meyer Koplow, Alisa Rubin Kurshan, Sara Nathan, Leonard Petlakh, Karen Radkowsky, David Silvers, Tara Slone, Nicki Tanner, Julia E. Zeuner UJA-Federation Professionals Alisa Rubin Kurshan, Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning & Organizational Resources Lyn Light Geller, Executive Director, Educational Resource & Organizational Development and Study Supervisor Jennifer Rosenberg, Director of Research and Study Director Leslie K. Lichter, Managing Director, Marketing & Communications Noel Rubinton, Director, Editorial Content Laura Sirowitz, Director, Commission Communications Plus other UJA-Federation staff who assisted with report production, fundraising, and more. Jewish Policy & Action Research (JPAR) Steven M. Cohen, Ph.D., Research Team Director* David Dutwin, Ph.D., Survey Director and Chief Methodologist Pearl Beck, Ph.D., Director of Geographic Studies Jacob B. Ukeles, Ph.D., Director of Special Studies* Ron Miller, Ph.D., Senior Consultant* Svetlana Shmulyian, Ph.D., Director of Client Relations and Senior Consultant Joshua Comenetz, Ph.D., Mapping Consultant * Contributed to this special study. Jewish Community Study of New York Technical Advisory Group Sid Groeneman, Ph.D.; Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz, Ph.D.; Gary Langer; Ilene Marcus, M.P.A., M.S.W.; David Marker, Ph.D.; David Pollock; Joseph Salvo, Ph.D.; Elizabeth Schnur, Ph.D.; Audrey Weiner, D.S.W., M.P.H. Study Funders Special thanks to the Jean and Albert Nerkin Population Study Fund for its continuing support. Also: the Green Charitable Foundation, the Kroll Kids Foundation, Scott and Susan Shay, David and Patricia B. Silvers, and Nicki and Harold Tanner. Community Leaders 300 lay and professional leaders from across the community who participated in forums to inform questionnaire development. Interviewers Several dozen professionals who conducted interviews in English, Russian, and Yiddish. Interviewees Thousands of New Yorkers who responded to our survey calls.