Jews of Multiple Religions: Where to draw the line, and should there even be one?

• In Event: Addressing Lacunae in the Literature: Research on Understudied Jewish Populations

Abstract

Building on Phillips’ (2023) look into the “penumbra” of Jewish identities, this paper will examine in detail “Jews of Multiple Religions” (JMRs). JMRs identify as Jewish in addition to another religion, while still having a Jewish background. For national and many local studies of the US Jewish community, JMRs are not included as part of the “core” Jewish population.

This paper focuses on the two types of JMRs. The first, “Jews by Ethnicity,” identify as Jewish separate from their religious identity, primarily through ethnic or ancestral means. Some may have formally converted out, while others have a non-Jewish spouse and have deemphasized their Jewish religious identity while upholding their ethnic Jewish identity. The second group, "Jewish-Ands," claim two religions. These are mostly commonly (but not solely) children of intermarriage; if Gen-Z follows the pattern set by Millennials, this segment of the population is highly likely to grow.

For nearly a decade, the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) has included JMR adults and children in estimates of individual Jewish communities. In any individual community, however, there have often been too few respondents to enable in-depth analysis. In our combined datafile of 25 datasets, however, there are over 1,000 JMR respondents representing approximately 150,000 adults.

As shown through the CMJS dataset, JMRs engage in Jewish life and consider being Jewish to be part of their daily lives at rates similar to Jews of No Religion, and yet there is little debate about the latter’s inclusion in the “core” Jewish community. By comparing additional characteristics, behaviors, and attitudes of JMRs against the commonly considered “core” Jews, as well as the two types of JMRs against each other, this paper argues that excluding this group has consequences not only for the demographic study of Jewry, but also the broader sphere of Jewish communal policy and planning.

Author

• Matthew Brookner, Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis