The Jewish Factor in Remarriage and Stepparenting

Publication Date: January 1994

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Nathalie Friedman

Research Area: Culture and religion; Social conditions

Keywords: Inter-marriage; Family; Religion

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

A study of Jewish remarried families with school-aged children has found a specific Jewish factor in remarriage. One factor differentiating more from less happily remarried families is the role of Jewish ritual. When there was conflict between ex spouses or between the remarried partners over religious observance, ritual had a divisive effect. Yet, in the absence of that conflict, the majority of those families that had made a positive adjustment to remarriage used Jewish ritual and observance as a binding force.