Abstract
Orthodox Jews differ from most American Jews, who tend to be less observant, more politically liberal, and have smaller families. Characteristics of the Orthodox include that they represent 10 % of US Jewish adults, were likely to be raised Orthodox, and are younger than other American Jews. They also are more likely to be married and to have a Jewish spouse, are more likely to marry at a younger age and typically have more children than other Jews.
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan “fact tank” that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. The center studies US politics and policy views; media and journalism; internet and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes; and US social and demographic trends. The center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization and a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. The 2013 survey of US Jews was made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which received support for the project from the Neubauer Family Foundation. All of the center’s reports are available at www.pewresearch.org.
“A Portrait of American Orthodox Jews,” Pew Research Center, Washington, DC (August, 2015)
http://www.pewforum.org/2015/08/26/a-portrait-of-american-orthodox-jews/.
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Notes
- 1.
The estimate of the size of the adult Jewish population depends on the definition of who is Jewish. See Chapter 1 of “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” for a discussion of various possible definitions of Jewishness and for figures on various estimates.
- 2.
The median age of marriage is based on current, intact marriages. It is not necessarily the age of first marriage because it does not account for divorce or the number of times respondents have been married. The share of divorced respondents is comparable across all Jewish denominations, roughly 8–11 %.
- 3.
See Cohen, Steven M. and Jacob B. Ukeles and Ron Miller. 2012. Jewish Community Study of New York: 2011. UJA Federation of New York. http://d4ovttrzyow8g.cloudfront.net/494344.pdf, pages 211–224. See also Waxman, Chaim I. 1998. “The Haredization of American Orthodox Jewry.” Jerusalem Letter/Viewpoints. http://www.bjpa.org/Publications/downloadPublication.cfm?PublicationID=2373.
- 4.
See Berman, Saul J. 2001. “The Ideology of Modern Orthodoxy.” Sh’ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. http://shma.com/2001/02/the-ideology-of-modern-orthodoxy/.
- 5.
See “Who is a Jew” sidebar from Pew Research Center’s 2013 report, “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” for more details as to how researchers categorized respondents when analyzing the survey data.
- 6.
It appears, however, there has been less switching out of Orthodox Judaism among younger adults. Among Americans raised as Orthodox Jews, 83 % of those ages 18–29 are still Orthodox Jews, compared with just 22 % of those 65 and older. Some experts believe that this gap is explained in part by a “period effect” (i.e., a surge in switching away from Orthodox Judaism from the 1950s to the 1970s, followed by higher retention within Orthodox Judaism in recent decades), as explained in the Jewish Identity chapter of the Pew Research Center’s 2013 report “A Portrait of Jewish Americans.”
- 7.
Age of marriage is based on current, intact marriages. It is not necessarily the age of first marriage because it does not account for divorce or the number of times respondents have been married.
- 8.
Among Orthodox Jews, men and women do not have bar/bat mitzvahs at equal rates. An overwhelming majority of Orthodox men (93 %) report having undergone this rite of passage, compared with 52 % of Orthodox women.
- 9.
It should be noted that the survey asked about household, rather than individual, incomes. It is possible that larger household sizes among Haredi Jews could contribute to higher reported incomes.
- 10.
Data on white evangelical Protestants come from a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 21–April 8, 2013.
- 11.
Among Orthodox Jews, men and women do not attend religious services at equal rates. Nearly three-quarters of Orthodox men (73 %) report attending synagogue weekly, compared with 50 % of Orthodox women.
- 12.
Data on belief in God among white evangelical Protestants come from a Pew Research Center survey conducted June 28-July 9, 2012. Data on religious service attendance among white evangelical Protestants come from aggregated data from surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center between February and June of 2013.
- 13.
The Pew Research Center’s question about handling money on the Sabbath was taken from the 2000–2001 National Jewish Population Survey, which found that 81 % of Orthodox Jews said they refrain from handling money on the Sabbath. However, the wording of the question – “Do you personally refrain from handling or spending money on the Jewish Sabbath?” – may have been confusing to some respondents because of a double negative: A “no” answer means the respondent does not refrain from handling money on the Sabbath. It is possible that in both the 2000–2001 NJPS and the 2013 Pew Research survey, some respondents (particularly those with limited English-language ability) may have answered “no” when they really meant to indicate that they do not handle money on the Sabbath.
- 14.
Some researchers suggest that non-Orthodox Jews participate in Passover at higher rates than other Jewish observances because they see the Passover seder as a sentimental, or even secular, family gathering rather than a religious obligation. For example, see Pleck, Elizabeth H. 2000. “Celebrating the Family: Ethnicity, Consumer Culture, and Family Rituals.” Harvard University Press, pages 95–116.
- 15.
The differences between Haredi and Modern Orthodox Jews may reflect the ambivalence that some Haredi Jews have felt about the state of Israel ever since its establishment. Some opposed the formal creation of a Jewish state before the arrival of the messiah. Modern Orthodox Jews, in contrast, integrated support for a Jewish state with their religious beliefs, seeing the formation of Israel as the beginning of religious redemption for the Jewish people.
- 16.
The figures for white evangelical Protestants come from aggregated data from surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center between February and June of 2013.
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Pew Research Center. (2017). A Portrait of American Orthodox Jews: A Further Analysis of the 2013 Survey of US Jews. In: Dashefsky, A., Sheskin, I. (eds) American Jewish Year Book 2016. American Jewish Year Book, vol 116. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46122-9_2
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