Conversion Among the Intermarried: Choosing to Become Jewish

Publication Date: January 1987

Publisher: American Jewish Committee

Author(s): Egon Mayer; Amy Avgar

Research Area: Culture and religion

Keywords: Intermarriage; Jewish Continuity; Conversion; Jewish Identification

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This report focuses on conversion to Judaism, analyzing the characteristics of converts as a group and the dynamics underlying the conversion process. Converts and non-converts are compared by looking at a number of personal and familial attributes that are assumed to affect the likelihood of conversion. The report also examines the potential role of the rabbi and of community outreach, and explores the formal preparation for conversion. Finally, converts and non-converts are compared with Jews from birth of various denominations in an attempt to measure the relative degree and nature of Jewish identification.