Leonard Saxe

Jewish denominations have long been one of the primary lenses used by researchers and communal leaders to view and analyze American Jewish identity and behavior. There are, however, a number of problems with the use of denominational affiliation as an independent variable for understanding contemporary Jewish life. Within denominational groups, there is substantial diversity in individuals’ Jewish behaviors and beliefs. In addition, a growing number of individuals do not identify with a specific denomination. Although, on average, Jewish adults without a denomination are less engaged in Jewish life than those who identify with one of the largest denominations, there is diversity within the no-denomination group as well.
This chapter acknowledges the complexity of denominational identity and provides a data-informed assessment of the degree to which denominational identification continues to be a useful construct to understand the American Jewish experience since 1990. The review is based on reanalysis of national studies and of 25 local Jewish community studies conducted since 2015 by the authors and colleagues at Brandeis University and our research partners. The review begins with a discussion of the denominational identity construct by considering trends in denominational affiliation over time. We then consider the degree to which denominational labels effectively describe Jewish engagement. An alternative, data-driven typology based on self-reported behavior is then applied to identify different groups of Jews to describe engagement. We propose a set of explanations for choosing particular denominational labels. The review concludes with an assessment of the implications of our analyses for understanding how US Jewry identifies and engages with Jewish life.

The enormity of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, even after effective vaccines have become available. Along with its devastating health and economic impacts, the pandemic has resulted in near-universal disruption of our personal and social lives. Efforts to curb the spread of the virus through social distancing appear to have been effective from an epidemiological perspective (Vokó & Pitter, 2020). Nevertheless, they severed or weakened social connections, leading to, among other things, widespread loneliness and associated mental health difficulties (Hamza et al., 2020; Lee et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2020; Pfefferbaum & North, 2020). Recent data confirm that the American Jewish community has not been spared the social and mental health consequences of the pandemic (Aronson et al., 2022). In addition to the disruption of the rhythms, rituals, and milestones of religious and cultural Jewish life, the suspension of travel and educational programs to Israel has interrupted a host of initiatives that foster ties between Jews in different parts of the world.

Pessimism has long dominated narratives about American Jewry. Pew’s 2020 study provides two ways to appreciate the strength of American Jewish life. If one accepts their estimate of the size of the population, US Jewry is expanding and, even though many are unengaged, they remain Jews. If one rejects Pew’s definition of who is Jewish, the population is smaller, but stable, and highly
engaged. Pew provides a portrait of a diverse community and suggests who needs to be touched to ensure a vibrant Jewish future.

As in the larger society, the Jewish community has suffered widespread health and social disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter describes the results of a set of surveys conducted May–July 2020 to assess the social impact of COVID on the US Jewish community and examine how Jewish organizations have responded to changing needs. Nearly 15,000 individuals recruited from organizational lists in federated Jewish communities completed surveys that focused on economic and mental health issues and the role of Jewish organizations. The findings documented that individuals in difficult financial situations prior to the crisis were more likely to have their financial situations worsen and have more difficulty coping with the emotional challenges related to the pandemic. Consistent with other research on the US population, Jewish young adults have disproportionately suffered mental health consequences during the pandemic. People who were most involved in Jewish life prior to the pandemic participated in online Jewish life more frequently than those who were less engaged. As the pandemic and its fallout continues, organizations will need to continue to respond to emerging human service needs, support online Jewish life, and find ways to facilitate interpersonal connections among community members.

In the current volume of the Year Book, the editors follow up on the optimistic vs. pessimistic assessment of American Jewish life, which was discussed in the 2017 Year Book. A summary of the original arguments formulated by Cohen and Liebman in regard to the characteristics of American Jews as viewed originally in 1987 is examined. The 19 participants in the current Forum were asked to review the original 1987 essays by Cohen and Liebman as well as the contemporary assessment by Cohen (all provided in Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-03907-3_1 of this volume) and to provide a commentary in which they would cite relevant data to support their position. All authors were asked to provide a thermometer reading on how warmly or coolly they felt toward Cohen’s contemporary assessment of American Jewish life. Scores ranged from a hot 100 to a cold 5. The median score was 60, and the mean was 56.

Continuing its distinguished tradition of focusing on central political, sociological, and cultural issues of Jewish life in the last century, this latest volume in the annual Studies in Contemporary Jewry series focuses on how Jewry has been studied in the social science disciplines. Its symposium consists of essays that discuss sources, approaches, and debates in the complementary fields of demography, sociology, economics, and geography. The social sciences are central for the understanding of contemporary Jewish life and have engendered much controversy over the past few decades. To a larg.