Jews in U.S. Encounter Growing Problems in Preserving Jewishness, Study Shows

American Jews are encountering growing problems, both internal and external, in preserving their Jewishness, according to a pioneering five-year study of American Jewish life released today by the American Jewish Committee.

Internally, they find difficulty in accepting the traditional Jewish religion with its numerous daily rituals. But they feel that today’s Judaism, which stresses the ethical concepts of Judaism almost to the exclusion of the ritual, does not differentiate them sufficiently from the rest of the community. Externally, they are made uneasy by the attitudes of their Gentile neighbors, who see Jewishness as an obstacle to Jewish integration into the general society.

Accordingly, the study reveals, Jews are frequently “tentative and uncertain” about their pattern of life, and they appear to be exploring what the precise role of ritual in the family’s religious scheme should be. These findings, detailed in two companion volumes published today by Basic Books, were made public by Dr. John Slawson, executive vice-president of the American Jewish Committee. The first volume, by Marshall Sklare and Joseph Greenblum, analyzes the life of a Jewish community and its current conceptions of Jewishness. The second volume, by Benjamin B. Ringer, examines the reactions of the community’s Gentiles and Jews to each other.

Together, the two books make up “The Lakeville Studies.” their findings based on interviews with hundreds of Christians and Jews in “Lakeville,” the cover name given a large midwestern suburb that was examined for five years under a project directed by Dr. Sklare and sponsored by the AJCommittee. Dr. Sklare is Professor of Sociology at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work and Ferkauf Graduate School of Humanities and Social Science, Yeshiva University. Dr. Ringer is Associate Professor of Sociology at Hunter College, and chairman of the Sociology Department there, while Mr. Greenblum teaches sociology at Hunter College.

92% OF INTERVIEWED JEWS WERE NATIVE AMERICANS OF THREE GENERATIONS

The particular community was chosen because it showed present-day social and demographic trends within American Jewry in an advanced stage, and thus could serve as an indicator of what lies ahead for much or most of America’s Jewish population. Lakeville, according to Dr. Sklare, is typical of prosperous suburban communities in which Jews are a sizeable group, but still a minority. It is a community of 25,000, approximately one-third of whom are Jewish. Most of the Jews interviewed (92 percent) were native Americans. The rest were divided between natives of Eastern Europe and later arrivals from Germany or Austria who came here as refugees from Nazism. Those questioned were predominantly second- and third-generation Americans, with a smaller group representing the fourth generation.

A major section of the study, as reported in the first volume, examined religious beliefs among Lakeville’s Jews in terms of their conception of the “good Jew.” The typical subject considered himself a “good Jew,” even though his daily life in most cases was not in accord with traditional Jewish laws and customs. He revealed a strong desire to survive as a Jew, and he hoped his children would continue as such, but his version of “Jewishness” would hardly be recognizable to members of previous generations.

Jewishness, the study asserts, has become inextricably intermingled with ethics in Lakeville. In other times and places, a typical view was that “being a good Jew makes you a good person”; the modern Lakeville Jew feels that “being a good person makes you a good Jew.” The report found that most Jews in Lakeville believed that cultivating good relations with non-Jews and working for the welfare of the town were part of being a “good Jew.” Some 93 percent of the Jews questioned felt that in order to qualify, one must “lead an ethical and moral life.”

The other attributes most often deemed essential were the following: 1. Accept being a Jew and do not try to hide it, 85%; 2. Support all humanitarian causes, 67%; 3. Promote civic betterment and improvement in the community, 67%; 4. Gain respect of Christian neighbors, 59%; 5. Help the underprivileged improve their lot, 58%; 6. Know the fundamentals of Judaism, 48%.

ONLY 23% CONSIDER MARRYING WITHIN JEWISH FAITH ESSENTIAL TO BEING A ‘GOOD JEW’

Religious piety, the report indicates, was not considered by many to be a prerequisite for being a “good Jew” — only 24 percent felt that attendance at synagogue services even during the Jewish High Holy Days was required. Marrying within the Jewish faith was considered vital by only 23 percent, and support for Israel by 21 percent. Contribution to Jewish philanthropies was deemed essential by 39 percent, as compared with the 67 percent who were for all humanitarian causes.

In the category of what was considered “desirable” rather than “essential” for being a “good Jew,” these were the high-ranking items: 1. Be well-versed in Jewish history and culture, 73%; 2. Marry within the Jewish faith, 51%; 3. Contribute to Jewish philanthropies, 49%; 4. Belong to Jewish organizations, 49%; 5. Know the fundamentals of Judaism, 48%; 6. Support Israel, 47%; 7. Attend weekly services, 46%; 8. Attend services on High Holy Days, 46%; 9. belong to a synagogue or temple, 44%.

Ninety percent of these interviewed belonged to synagogues, although many agreed their affiliation was largely nominal. Some families joined when their children were ready for Sunday School and dropped out afterwards. Whereas 62 percent of those interviewed were Reform and 26 percent Conservative, only 2 percent were Orthodox. It was not surprising, therefore, that adherence to religious dietary laws, ordinarily the custom of Orthodox and more observant Conservative Jews, was considered unimportant by 86 percent.

This social separation between Christian and Jew, examined in the second Lakeville volume, was found to prevail even though Lakeville Jews and Christians worked together for common goals. The study foresees an uncertain future for Lakeville Jews as Jews, anticipating a large degree of assimilation unless the youth of the community acquire a larger sense of Jewish identity.