Liminal but not Always Minimal - Religious Identity and Commitment among Jews not by Religion in America

Jews not by religion and religious nones in general are important and growing groups in American society. Although it is generally assumed that Jews not by religion have an ancestral link to Judaism, but have no religious affiliation, the picture is more complex and reflects the ability of an individual in a multicultural society to construct their own identity. While a significant portion are indeed of Jewish ancestry and have simply rejected the religious component of Jewish identity, many are of mixed heritage and a third group have no familial connection to the Jewish people at all. Qualitative analysis of the Pew 2013 survey: “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” allows for a fuller understanding of the socio-demographic characteristics and identity of Jews not by religion.

Jews not by religion as a group tend to demonstrate lower levels of commitment than do Jews by religion. However, once those two umbrella groups are broken down into their constituent parts quite a different picture emerges. Patterns of Jewish identification among Jews of no religion vary widely and seem to be in large part a function of their differing Jewish identities. Consequently they do not exactly parallel those for Jews by religion. The common thread uniting Jews not by religion may be, their rejection of centralized religious authority and ability to create new, personalized or hybridized forms of religious engagement.