A FEW OF THE MORE FRAGRANT ASPECTS OF THE PEW STUDY ON JEWS

 

The recent centennial conference of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in Baltimore was impressive.  The celebratory mood of the conference, however, did not really grab me.  As a movement, we have many reasons for concern and the Pew Research Survey on Jews made public this past October has confirmed statistically that which we have recognized for some time.

Only 18% of Jews self-identify as Conservative which is dramatically down from what it was only a couple decades ago.  For a movement that prides itself on Halakhic integrity, we find that only 19% of all Jews see devotion to Halakhah or Jewish law as integral to one’s Jewish identity.  Although 78% of Jews refer to themselves as “religious,” almost a third of the millenials (those born in the 1980’s through early 2000) claim no religion at all.  36% of all Jews refer to themselves as “just Jewish,” that is, they see no reason to engage with a particular denomination at all.
 

The Pew Survey has caused yet another round of handwringing and oy-veying throughout the Jewish community as the report seemingly points to the imminent death of religiosity, and if so, what will be left of Judaism?  And the dismal decline of Jews willing to identify as Conservative plays right into our fears for the future of the Jewish people in general.  By the same token, Jews are overwhelmingly proud of being Jewish, whatever their definition of Jewish may be.   70% of all Jews participated in a seder during the past year.   73% claim that remembering the Holocaust is central to their Jewishness. And 69% claim leading an ethical life is central to Jewish identity.  (only 69%--ouch!)

As unsettling as the Pew Report may be, it needs to be tempered by a few realities or facts.  First of all, Jewish identity is not a linear issue.  That is to say, just because one group’s numbers are declining or rising, does not mean that such a trend is irreversible.  In fact, both Reform Judaism (in the 20’s and 30’s) and Orthodoxy (in the 40’s and 50’s) were in steep decline yet neither disappeared.  To the contrary, denominationally, Reform Judaism lays claim to the largest segment of Jews connected religiously and these days, Orthodoxy is both young and vibrant.   But Orthodoxy itself is not one monolithic denomination.  Of the 10% of Jews who self-identify as Orthodox, only 3% are Modern Orthodox—and that number is no success story.  The remaining 7% involve varying degrees of ultra- or haredi Judaism.  This segment of Orthodoxy is largely separated from the modern world, undereducated in secular knowledge or employable skills, and suffers from the highest degree of poverty within the Jewish world.  If this is what it takes to remain Jewish, then the future of Judaism is indeed bleak.

Another reality that may temper the results of the Pew Study is the ambiguity revolving around the term “religious.”  What does that term really mean?  If one goes to a seder, as 70% of the Jewish community did this past year, was that a religious act?  Some will say no, but others would say yes.  If one remembers the Shoah (the Holocaust) and the terrible impact it had on the Jewish people, as 73% of the Jewish people claim is integral to their Jewishness, is that a religious act?  Some will say no, but others would say yes.  Religiosity is an inherently ambiguous term.  Even more important is the fact that religiosity is schlepping around some serious baggage these days, including insipid, long and boring worship services; financial commitments that seem greater than the value received; clergy in the news that have been misbehaving; churches in the news that have been covering for the misbehaving clergy; not to mention millions of so-called “religious” Moslems who what to destroy Israel and/or dismantle western culture and values.  Given all that, who would want to lay unequivocal claim to religious sentiments?!

The Pew Study asked people to fit themselves into categories, but these categories may not be the ones that people are fitting themselves into these days.  I was fascinated by one NPR Report that interviewed three Jews, one young lady professing to be an atheist.  She admitted to a love of the High Holiday services at her synagogue and found meaning in the annual confession of her sins before God.

Excuse me?

She saw no contradiction.  And I, for one, am willing to suggest that there may not be one.  This young lady does reject God, but the God that she rejects may be the God that many believers reject as well.  When she confesses her sins—before God!—then she has, in her head, created something greater than herself to whom she speaks.  She’s not nuts or crazy or a philosophical nit wit.  She’s a Jew for whom the power of the tradition is still real, however God marginally fits into it.  God is complicated for the most serious of sages, philosophers, and scholars—why should it be any easier for this young lady?

It was Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), twice the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and someone whose Jewish parents had him baptized at the age of 12, who purportedly wrote, “There are three kinds of lies:  lies, damned lies, and statistics.”  I don’t mean to impugn the results of the Pew Study.  They speak for themselves.  What I do question is whether we are examining the statistics as fully as possible. 

Let’s go right to the bottom line.  Most Jews are very proud to be Jews.  That’s a huge win for the Jewish people, especially in a post-Holocaust age.  And though we seem to be drifting away from religion, it is very difficult to weed out the religion from the culture, and a lot of that weeding is of a semantic nature.  Is Judaism in general or Conservative Judaism specifically headed for the dust bins of history?  I would answer no to both questions.  I think Jews want to be Jewish and we are in a period of extraordinary transition and tumult where we are all waiting for a Judaism that speaks to us powerfully and touches us deeply.  The real question is whether  denominational Judaism will be willing to make the changes that will ultimately reconnect the Jewish people to their spiritual roots.  As for Conservative Judaism, I have faith that we will.