Family, Friends, and the Jewish Future: Analysis and Policy Implications for US Jewry

Among US Jews ages 25-54, an extraordinarily large number are non-married, intermarried, childless, and/or not raising children as Jewish. These features all impede Jewish identity, both now and in the future. Those with fewer Jewish intimate relationships (spouses, children, and friends) exhibit fewer and weaker Jewish connections. In contrast, those with Jewish spouses and children, along with Jewish friends—benefit from numerous social connections that both reflect and support extensive Jewish engagement.

This analysis – drawing upon the Pew 2013 survey of American Jewry, setting aside the Haredi Orthodox -- addresses the frequently voiced argument that current family patterns are relatively inconsequential, that they merely reflect prior Jewish socialization and educational experiences. To be concrete, this hypothesis rejects the notion that intermarriage acts independent of background to depress levels of Jewish engagement.

In stark contrast, the analysis demonstrates that intermarriage (and other family configurations) has enormous consequence. After taking into account parents’ inmarriage, their denomination, Jewish schooling, camping and region, those who marry Jews score much higher on Jewish engagement measures than those who marry non-Jews. Such is also the case when comparing those with children home versus those whose homes are childless. Jewish friends also exert an independent impact.

The strong relationships between social networks and Jewish engagement present both challenges and opportunities to Jewish policymakers and practitioners to enhance possibilities for more robust Jewish family formation patterns, specifically earlier marriage, marriage to Jews, and Jewish child-rearing.