Jews doing Jewish together
“Are American Jews more likely to view “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Fauda,” “Transparent,” and other Jewish-themed shows than belong to a synagogue? Do more Jews believe “being intellectually curious” is “essential to being Jewish” than Jews who feel it essential to be “part of a Jewish community”? Does eating or cooking traditional Jewish foods appeal to more Jews than fasting on Yom Kippur?
YES, according to the Pew Research Center’s recently released report on Jewish Americans in 2020. Personal, individual activities are embraced by considerably more American Jews than those with social, communal, or religious dimensions. But in building vibrant Jewish communities, are privatized Jewish activities really effective substitutes for programs that bring Jews together? The new Pew data show that group—rather than individualized—expressions of Jewishness build Jewish “social capital,” the glue binding Jews to one another and enabling collective action. Contrary to the widely accepted progressive wisdom which views all types of Jewish activities as equally valuable, the Pew study demonstrates that some are correlated with strong Jewish engagement and build Jewish social capital far more than others....“ (read more)
