Monday Morning Message – October 15, 2012

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Last week I read a very interesting article written by an “engaged and unaffiliated” Jew about his strong Jewish feelings and connection to Judaism despite not belonging to a Synagogue. The article quoted a recent study put out by the Workman’s Circle showing that 1 in 6 Jews in the United States are actively seeking Jewish expression in their lives outside of the Synagogue. This is a much different phenomenon than the concept equating lack of synagogue affiliation with lack of Jewish engagement.

Here are a few statistics about these one million Jews in the United States:

Who are the engaged and unaffiliated?

• As many as 40% are under the age of 35.
• They are more concentrated in the western region of the United States, where a third of them live, as compared with just over a fifth of other American Jews. The west is known for low rates of Jewish communal affiliation, while the eastern United States is known for its relatively high rates.
• Just under half (49%) of the engaged and unaffiliated are married, slightly less than in other Jewish groups. Some18% of them are intermarried and 22% are married to other Jews. They are less likely to have children than other groups.
• Almost half earn under $50,000.
• They most often (51%) identify as liberals – more often than any other group in the survey.

How do they engage Jewishly?

• Most (55%) report that at least half their friends are Jewish. This is somewhat less than among the congregationally affiliated – whether active or not – but substantially more than among those who are unengaged and congregationally unaffiliated.
• Nearly 3 in 5 fast on Yom Kippur, not that far behind the congregationally affiliated (3 in 4) and substantially ahead of the unengaged and congregationally unaffiliated (1 in 3).
• Almost half (46%) “at least sometimes” have a special Friday night meal with family and friends.
• 40% say religion is “very important” in their lives.
• More than any other non-Orthodox group in this study, 56% see themselves as very attached to Israel.

To read the entire article,   click here.

What exactly this will mean for the future of synagogue life is not entirely clear- but one thing is for certain: synagogues, including ours, will have to continue to think strategically and creatively when it comes to addressing this challenge in the years to come.

So What do you think? If you come to synagogue regularly- why do you come?

If you don’t- why not?

As always, I am looking forward to hearing from you!