The Conversion of American Jewry

Publication Date: August 1991

Publisher: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Author(s): Samuel Z. Klausner

Research Area: Culture and religion

Keywords: Jewish Continuity; Assimilation; Demography; Jewish Identification

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The author bases his report on the 1990 National Jewish Population Study (NJPS), which he argues clearly documents the cultural assimilation of the American Jewish community. He concludes that the study indicates some major demographic trends within the Jewish community including, but not limited to, the static Jewish core population within a growing society, the soaring rate of intermarriage that almost inevitably leads to non-Jewish grandchildren, and the over one million self-proclaimed secular Jews whose attitudes and practices differ little from the surrounding Christian society.