Living Mixed Traditions

Publication Date: April 2004

Publisher: Hadassah-Brandeis Institute

Author(s): Zachary Heller; Sherry Israel; Christopher Winship; Bruce Phillips; Arnold Dashefsky

Research Area: Culture and religion; Social conditions

Keywords: Jewish Continuity; Methodology; Intermarriage; Family

Type: Other

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

In this 'Double or Nothing Jewish Families and Mixed Marriage in the United States' panel, Dashefsky shares preliminary results from his recent in depth study of intermarried families, especially their attitudes towards their children's Jewish heritage. Phillips discusses his work on developing and testing a grounded theory of religious dynamics in interfaith families, defining five categories of mixed marriages based on the religious identifications of the partners, and showing that children of almost all of them tend to be raised with more markers of Christian than Jewish observance. Winship adds historical insight to aid our understanding Jewish intermarriage trends in the USA. Heller addresses the issue from a policy-planning perspective.