Six percent of the religious population of the United States is Jewish, according to an estimate made public here last night by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. The figures were presented to the quarterly meeting of the Council’s General Board, policy making body of the group, which represents 30 major Protestant and Eastern Orthodox church bodies.
The figures released here, which put Protestants at 53 percent, and Roman Catholics at 40 percent, of the religious population, are based on a compilation and analysis of data provided by 114 religious bodies with a total membership of more than 74,000,000. It is expected that the detailed study will eventually provide information on religious affiliation down to the county level.
The Council’s General Board voted today to set up a special committee to recommend action by American churches to help solve the Arab refugee problem. The recommendations, the General Board agreed, will be based upon the findings of a report issued in Lebanon last May by a conference on Arab refugees sponsored by the World Council of Churches and the International Missionary Council. One conference conclusion urged Israel to take the initiative in solving the Arab refugee problem. What form the suggested Israel action should take was not detailed in the finding.
“It ought to be possible for us as Christians to register our concern over the Arab refugees without being accused of anti-Semitism,” said Rev. Paul D. Freeland an official, who reported to the General Board on overseas church measures to relieve Arab refugee suffering.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
