Pew study and the Rise of ‘Jews of no religion’

[Jayhawker Soule]

From the Times of Israel: Pew study and the American Jews of no religion":

Rise of ‘Jews of no religion’ most significant find of Pew study, says director​

Landmark new survey among American Jewish Millennials shows a whopping 32% describe themselves as proudly Jewish by culture alone; 71% of non-Orthodox Jews marrying out.

WASHINGTON — The first comprehensive survey of American Jews in the 21st Century, which has been making waves this week, reveals some dramatic changes in Jewish identity. The most significant, according to one of the study’s lead authors, is that one-fifth of American Jews don’t even call themselves “Jewish” when asked about their religion.

< -- snip -- >​

According to the survey, Orthodox Jews, which comprise only 10% of US Jewry, are much more observant on a variety of measures such as synagogue attendance and participation in life-cycle rituals. But the study also discovered that less than half of US Jews who grew up Orthodox remained part of the community.

Among the three major denominations, Reform Jews have the highest retention rate at 55%. Forty-eight percent of those who grew up Orthodox remained in the Orthodox community, whereas only 36% of US Jews who were raised Conservative stayed within the movement.

The falloff from Orthodoxy, at least, appears to be declining and is significantly lower – only 17% – among 18 to 29 year olds. It’s an open question as to whether this is due to a change within the community or simply that not enough time has elapsed for these Jews to change their affiliation.

The most talked-about number in the new survey is sure to be the intermarriage rate, often considered the leading indicator of the health and long-term prospects of the American Jewish community.

< -- snip -- >​

But Smith, who oversaw the Pew survey, cautions against “confusing religious observance or levels of observance with levels of strength of Jewish identity.”

“What comes through loud and clear in the data,” he says, “is that religion may not be that important in many Jews’ lives, but being Jewish is. They tell us they are proud of being Jewish, they feel a close connection to the Jewish people and a strong sense of identity.”

‘Religion may not be that important in many Jews’ lives, but being Jewish is’

“So those two things – secularization and a strong sense of Jewish identity – are not contradictory.” It’s not that American Jewish identity is necessarily waning, he says, but, rather, it’s changing.

One area where change is apparent is American Jewish attitudes to Israel. The Pew survey found that 7 in 10 US Jews say they feel attached to the Jewish state and 4 in 10 say they’ve been to Israel at least once. However, along with this sense of connection, there is also a new willingness to be critical of the Israeli government.

When asked whether they believe the current Israeli government is sincere in its efforts to make peace with the Palestinians, 38% said yes and 48% said no, a finding Smith called “striking.” To be sure, there was even more skepticism about Palestinian intentions as 75% of respondents don’t think the Palestinian leadership is making a sincere effort to achieve peace.

The full report has much more on Israel and contains a treasure trove of information on American Jewish attitudes. Among the more surprising findings:

• More than one-third (34%) of American Jews say believing Jesus is the Messiah is compatible with Judaism.
• Forty-two percent believe having a good sense of humor is part of what it means to be Jewish.
• One-quarter (25%) of US Jews have a household income exceeding $150,000 (compared with eight percent of the public as a whole).
• Seventy percent are Democrats compared with 22% who call themselves Republicans; however, among the Orthodox, 57% lean Republican and 36% lean Democrat.
• Only 17% of US Jews believe the building of Jewish settlements enhances Israel’s security.

The survey, called A Portrait of Jewish Americans, has been in the works for years and cost several million dollars. Smith says the Pew Research team spoke with more than 70,000 people across the country in order to recruit a large enough sample of Jews. Interviews were conducted from February to June of this year in English and Russian, on land lines and via cell phones. The margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus three percentage points.

Thoughts?

 

[Levite]

I don't think this shows anything surprising or new. Non-Orthodox Judaism in America has been suffering huge assimilation and lack of adequate Jewish education for a long time now. And Orthodoxy everywhere has been suffering from zealotry and excessive social conservatism for a long time. Everybody's retention rates are suffering, though for different reasons; but also because the day of movements is coming to a close.

All this says to me is what I've predicted for a long time: the confluence of Jewish ignorance and intermarriage will lead to enormous numbers of Jews being lost completely to total secular assimilation and apostasy; the "center" of educated, paticipatory, in some way observant Jews will become a tiny informal community of former Conservative, former Modern Orthodox, and a very few former Reform Jews; the rest of Orthodoxy will turn itself into a Jewish Taleban if they're not careful; and non-fundamentalist Jewish life will look very different (and much smaller) 20 or 25 years from now.

The age of big shuls is over. Movements as we know them are on the way out. At some point there will be only a large Orthodox community and a small Non-Orthodox community. What will keep people Jewish is the confluence of education and the engagement of their parents in Jewish life, creating contextualized, rich, and pleasant Jewish lives.

But I find nothing shocking in this. Only sad, as usual.

 

[dantech]

I don't think this shows anything surprising or new. Non-Orthodox Judaism in America has been suffering huge assimilation and lack of adequate Jewish education for a long time now. And Orthodoxy everywhere has been suffering from zealotry and excessive social conservatism for a long time. Everybody's retention rates are suffering, though for different reasons; but also because the day of movements is coming to a close.

All this says to me is what I've predicted for a long time: the confluence of Jewish ignorance and intermarriage will lead to enormous numbers of Jews being lost completely to total secular assimilation and apostasy; the "center" of educated, paticipatory, in some way observant Jews will become a tiny informal community of former Conservative, former Modern Orthodox, and a very few former Reform Jews; the rest of Orthodoxy will turn itself into a Jewish Taleban if they're not careful; and non-fundamentalist Jewish life will look very different (and much smaller) 20 or 25 years from now.

The age of big shuls is over. Movements as we know them are on the way out. At some point there will be only a large Orthodox community and a small Non-Orthodox community. What will keep people Jewish is the confluence of education and the engagement of their parents in Jewish life, creating contextualized, rich, and pleasant Jewish lives.

But I find nothing shocking in this. Only sad, as usual.

You know, I always read these types of comments and feel bad for our future. But as I look at Montreal, where I live, I see very little of all that.

In the neighborhood I lived in before I got married, there are 2 BIG Shuls, as well as about 5 smaller ones, and they are all always full on the Sabbath. On weekdays, the bigger ones will have about 30-40 people Minyanim, whereas the smaller ones might get 10 people exactly. When I spend the Sabbath at my mom's who still lives there, after synagogue we might take a walk in the park and stuff like that, and we often see a few select parks, FULL of Jewish kids ranging from very young age in the sandboxes to teenagers playing basketball and other sports. This neighborhood is not majorly Jewish in any way, and assimilation, I'd say, is very easy. Yet over there, Jews tend to stick together.


Where I live now is something like 80% Jewish. Every house you see has a Mezuzah. There are 10 Big Synagogues and about 10 smaller ones. They are all, always full on Sabbath and holidays. On the weekdays, they all have easily 20-25+ people.

So as I understand your point, and it saddens me, maybe it's starting in America but hasn't reached us here yet. Hopefully it won't anytime soon.

 

[Caladan]

As the survey says, many Jews have a strong sense of identity, but don't consider it to be manifested in religion.
So if we to keep Jewish traditions preserved, celebrated, studied or practiced we need to make them relevant to our society today. It needs to start with much more basic things which touch the core humanity of people, before promoting technical rituals people may get no inspiration from.
In my mind a Jewish person sees their identity in light of inspiring figures in our history. It can be a prophet who is defiant against the injustice of his time, it can be any historical person or community in Jewish history who played a part, and played it well. The idea that what makes us Jewish is repeating technical traditions, keeping dietary habits, putting on tefillin every morning, reciting the same exact prayers, is not so very inspiring to many people who consider their identity to be based on character. Whether they uphold bravery, loyalty, perhaps compassion, values, good standards. Jewish tradition needs to be kept in a beautiful form, and in some cases it is. But these traditions should reflect the nature of our people as they are today.
We no longer live in ghettos or Jewish quarters, in close knit communities, where to paraphrase Tevye, tradition is what keeps us together or even what keeps us sane in a hostile, cold, and indifferent world. Before we consider the preservation of a ritualistic Jewish identity as the highest ideal, we need to make sure that our societies still upholds good ideals. A healthy society may probably also celebrate its heritage and traditions more merrily.

 

[Levite]

As the survey says, many Jews have a strong sense of identity, but don't consider it to be manifested in religion.
So if we to keep Jewish traditions preserved, celebrated, studied or practiced we need to make them relevant to our society today. It needs to start with much more basic things which touch the core humanity of people, before promoting technical rituals people may get no inspiration from.
In my mind a Jewish person sees their identity in light of inspiring figures in our history. It can be a prophet who is defiant against the injustice of his time, it can be any historical person or community in Jewish history who played a part, and played it well. The idea that what makes us Jewish is repeating technical traditions, keeping dietary habits, putting on tefillin every morning, reciting the same exact prayers, is not so very inspiring to many people who consider their identity to be based on character. Whether they uphold bravery, loyalty, perhaps compassion, values, good standards. Jewish tradition needs to be kept in a beautiful form, and in some cases it is. But these traditions should reflect the nature of our people as they are today.
We no longer live in ghettos or Jewish quarters, in close knit communities, where to paraphrase Tevye, tradition is what keeps us together or even what keeps us sane in a hostile, cold, and indifferent world. Before we consider the preservation of a ritualistic Jewish identity as the highest ideal, we need to make sure that our societies still upholds good ideals. A healthy society may probably also celebrate its heritage and traditions more merrily.

With all due respect, I think you get away with making that argument because you are conversant in Jewish texts, speak Hebrew, and live in Israel.

When Jews outside Israel assimilate, none of those things are the case. And merely invoking tradition to bolster positive ethics-- especially when done without real understanding of the tradition or traditional ethical discourses-- is simply insufficient to maintain anything like effective and distinctive Jewish identity.

Also, Jewish life is not supposed to be an either/or, black-and-white choice between a robust moral and ethical agenda or sterile and rote repetition of ritual. Meaningful Jewish observance and affiliation (not just with a movement, but with life in Jewish tradition, in the Jewish community) has to come from both moral/ethical and ritual aspects, and has to be both educated and spiritually open. It's like tefillah: it's not a choice between keva and kavanah, both are necessary, or the whole enterprise won't work.

Also, the issues in Jewish society are not limited to the problems of the left: the problems of the right are equally troubling, and are very different problems. The only practical difference is that the latter erodes Judaism slowly, while the former erodes Judaism quickly.

 

[metis]

In general, religion in the west is eroding, and I find that neither intrinsically good or bad as there's a bit of both mixed in. People in general will go in the direction of what they may believe and where they feel comfortable, and that's that. And in the west, people now more than ever will shop around and no longer feel tied to which faith they were brought up in, and I don't feel that's intrinsically bad either.

To me, I think it's best to look realistically what's happening and respond accordingly, and one of the trends we're seeing is that younger people are less interested in dogma and more interested in doing something more than just sitting, singing, and listening. I think the days of ho-hum religion are waning, and the sooner shuls realize this the better off they'll be in the long run.

 

[Levite]

To me, I think it's best to look realistically what's happening and respond accordingly, and one of the trends we're seeing is that younger people are less interested in dogma and more interested in doing something more than just sitting, singing, and listening. I think the days of ho-hum religion are waning, and the sooner shuls realize this the better off they'll be in the long run.

If a shul is presenting Judaism as just being dogmas, sitting, singing, and listening, then they're doing it wrong.

The fact that so many people-- young or otherwise-- think that this is what Judaism and Jewish life are, and why they should disregard, leave, or devalue it, speaks eloquently to our communal failure to educate them Jewishly, and to provide better experiences-- at home as well as at shul-- of vibrant, intellectually stimulating, spiritually open and satisfying traditional Jewish living, learning, and observance.

 

[metis]

If a shul is presenting Judaism as just being dogmas, sitting, singing, and listening, then they're doing it wrong.

The fact that so many people-- young or otherwise-- think that this is what Judaism and Jewish life are, and why they should disregard, leave, or devalue it, speaks eloquently to our communal failure to educate them Jewishly, and to provide better experiences-- at home as well as at shul-- of vibrant, intellectually stimulating, spiritually open and satisfying traditional Jewish living, learning, and observance.

I agree with you in general, but the word "traditional" could be used by some to discourage them from looking to that which may be more in tune with how they may perceive their interrelationship with the world and other Jews in general. IOW, "traditional" could be used as a game-stopper that keeps the status quo, and the status-quo is sometimes the problem.

Therefore, to me, it's sort of a balancing act between tradition, rethinking our sense of purpose, and looking at innovations, which some shuls have already done a good job at doing.

 

[Akivah]

I saw a quote yesterday which stated "Judaism is always on the verge of dying." And that's true. Throughout history, people have always predicted our demise. I'll bet if a similar survey was held during the Babylonian exile, that it would have had similar results.

One thing that was surprising to me from that poll, is that way more Jews are lost through inter-marriage than are lost from proseyltizing.

 

[dantech]

I saw a quote yesterday which stated "Judaism is always on the verge of dying." And that's true. Throughout history, people have always predicted our demise. I'll bet if a similar survey was held during the Babylonian exile, that it would have had similar results.

One thing that was surprising to me from that poll, is that way more Jews are lost through inter-marriage than are lost from proseyltizing.

Glad to see more Jews joining this forum lately.
Welcome brother.

Inter-marriage is something I will never agree with. I believe inter-marriage to be the easiest, most seamless way to slowly destroy Judaism.

 

[Levite]

Inter-marriage is something I will never agree with. I believe inter-marriage to be the easiest, most seamless way to slowly destroy Judaism.

I am inclined to agree.

 

[metis]

But how does one stop intermarriage? Tell them not to fall in love?

There's the old saying "If you can't fight them, join them". Also, Judaism has a LOT to offer, so we shouldn't be leery of pointing to that which can makes it enticing. Instead of saying "No!", we should instead be much more accepting of diversity, and then point to that which we have to offer without looking arrogant in the process. Whether we like it or not, today in the west people shop, and if we refuse to open our shop, people will go elsewhere.

 

[Levite]

But how does one stop intermarriage? Tell them not to fall in love?

There's the old saying "If you can't fight them, join them". Also, Judaism has a LOT to offer, so we shouldn't be leery of pointing to that which can makes it enticing. Instead of saying "No!", we should instead be much more accepting of diversity, and then point to that which we have to offer without looking arrogant in the process. Whether we like it or not, today in the west people shop, and if we refuse to open our shop, people will go elsewhere.

Accepting diversity has nothing to do with accepting intermarriage.

Every society has boundaries, which it must keep, or else it dissolves into nothing. Intermarriage is one of our central boundaries. And it is now extremely clear that when that boundary goes, everything else is quick to follow. Though, admittedly, the problem is greatly exacerbated by lack of Jewish education.

There are no rules about who to fall in love with. Our system has an excellent solution already made for people who find themselves in love with a non-Jew: conversion.

And if a person feels so strongly that they wish to marry a non-Jewish person and not have that person convert, but instead to keep practicing some other religion, then that seems like a fairly clear statement of priorities: Judaism is simply not very important to such an individual, so the consequences they ought to face by being intermarried (presuming that our communities actually functioned properly instead of enabling transgression)-- not being considered halachically married, their children either not being Jewish or not having a halachic father, and the stigma of being transgressive without remorse-- should not be problematic for them. And since most Liberal Jewish communities don't even have those consequences, why should we be shocked that everyone is intermarrying?

But we do ourselves no favors if, in the interest of trying to attract numbers and gather more members of the Jewish community, we end up compromising so much of what Judaism is that it becomes scarcely distinguishable from any other secularized Western religion.

I would far rather maintain our tradition with integrity and the knowledge that this may mean we have smaller numbers.

Though I deplore intermarriage, I think education is what we should be focusing on as a practical issue. For that matter, I think the more educated Liberal Jews became, the more they would likely end up reducing intermarriage, anyhow.

 

[metis]

Accepting diversity has nothing to do with accepting intermarriage.

Every society has boundaries, which it must keep, or else it dissolves into nothing. Intermarriage is one of our central boundaries. And it is now extremely clear that when that boundary goes, everything else is quick to follow. Though, admittedly, the problem is greatly exacerbated by lack of Jewish education.

There are no rules about who to fall in love with. Our system has an excellent solution already made for people who find themselves in love with a non-Jew: conversion.

And if a person feels so strongly that they wish to marry a non-Jewish person and not have that person convert, but instead to keep practicing some other religion, then that seems like a fairly clear statement of priorities: Judaism is simply not very important to such an individual, so the consequences they ought to face by being intermarried (presuming that our communities actually functioned properly instead of enabling transgression)-- not being considered halachically married, their children either not being Jewish or not having a halachic father, and the stigma of being transgressive without remorse-- should not be problematic for them. And since most Liberal Jewish communities don't even have those consequences, why should we be shocked that everyone is intermarrying?

But we do ourselves no favors if, in the interest of trying to attract numbers and gather more members of the Jewish community, we end up compromising so much of what Judaism is that it becomes scarcely distinguishable from any other secularized Western religion.

I would far rather maintain our tradition with integrity and the knowledge that this may mean we have smaller numbers.

Though I deplore intermarriage, I think education is what we should be focusing on as a practical issue. For that matter, I think the more educated Liberal Jews became, the more they would likely end up reducing intermarriage, anyhow.

First of all, diversity very much is involved, or at least should be imo, because it's a matter of dealing with the respect for the individual enough to let them make their own decisions and not force our will on them.

The issue of education is really a bit of a shake-pit in that it becomes an easy excuse why So-and-So decides to marry out of the faith. It's the "Well, if they only knew what I know, ...". The idea that liberal and secular Jews are somehow not really aware of the issues is really just scapegoating what's happening. Yes, there are plenty who don't have a good Jewish education, no doubt, but that's always been true. Therefore, the increase in intermarriage simply cannot be laid at the feet of ignorance, although it can help and contribute to it no doubt.

Finally, I'm not asking about "compromising" Judaism but just to take notice and recognize that's happening and why. Much of what I am proposing can be done within orthodox Judaism, but I'm certainly not going to be so condescending so as to believe that I can tell them what to do. Obviously, those of us in more liberal branches have reasons for our approach, and I would suggest that it's not based on our ignorance-- except for maybe me.

 

[Akivah]

But how does one stop intermarriage? Tell them not to fall in love?

There's the old saying "If you can't fight them, join them". Also, Judaism has a LOT to offer, so we shouldn't be leery of pointing to that which can makes it enticing. Instead of saying "No!", we should instead be much more accepting of diversity, and then point to that which we have to offer without looking arrogant in the process. Whether we like it or not, today in the west people shop, and if we refuse to open our shop, people will go elsewhere.

I think the laws of kashrut, if followed, would reduce the number of inter-marriages. A big part of getting to know someone, is by having meals with them. If a Jew limits where they will eat, then fewer opportunities will exist to get to know a non-Jew.

Also, in the past, we were confined to ghettos. There wasn't much opportunity to even meet a non-Jew. Nowadays our freedom has us doing a lot of socializing with non-Jews. Our freedom might be contributing to our demise.

 

[Akivah]

Glad to see more Jews joining this forum lately.
Welcome brother.

Todah. Glad to be here.

On the little bit of reading I've done on this forum, it looks far more peaceful and accepting than the last forum I was on. There we had a Judaism section, in which I was almost the only Jew actively posting. And when I wrote some posts on Judaism, I would invariably be attacked by Christians telling me how I got it wrong and they'll tell me what Judaism actually believes.

 

[Tarheeler]

Todah. Glad to be here.

On the little bit of reading I've done on this forum, it looks far more peaceful and accepting than the last forum I was on. There we had a Judaism section, in which I was almost the only Jew actively posting. And when I wrote some posts on Judaism, I would invariably be attacked by Christians telling me how I got it wrong and they'll tell me what Judaism actually believes.

Yeah, it's fairly calm here but you really need to learn the ropes of the DIR forums. It's the place where most new people see the most issues, but it's also the place (IMO) that makes this forum the success it is. In here (the Judaism DIR), non-Jews can ask questions, but that is about it. We provide answers, our opinions, and discuss issues that pertain to Judaism. And there are similar sections for Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism....

And, again, welcome to RF!

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Accepting diversity has nothing to do with accepting intermarriage.

Is it not reasonable to suspect that this hostility to and rejection of intermarriage serves only to drive the intermarried Jew out of the synagogue? Is it not far, far better to create a welcoming environment for the non-Jew and the children? The religious schools of the Reform movement are blessed with more that a few children of interfaith marriages.

 

[Levite]

First of all, diversity very much is involved, or at least should be imo, because it's a matter of dealing with the respect for the individual enough to let them make their own decisions and not force our will on them.

The issue of education is really a bit of a shake-pit in that it becomes an easy excuse why So-and-So decides to marry out of the faith. It's the "Well, if they only knew what I know, ...". The idea that liberal and secular Jews are somehow not really aware of the issues is really just scapegoating what's happening. Yes, there are plenty who don't have a good Jewish education, no doubt, but that's always been true. Therefore, the increase in intermarriage simply cannot be laid at the feet of ignorance, although it can help and contribute to it no doubt.

Finally, I'm not asking about "compromising" Judaism but just to take notice and recognize that's happening and why. Much of what I am proposing can be done within orthodox Judaism, but I'm certainly not going to be so condescending so as to believe that I can tell them what to do. Obviously, those of us in more liberal branches have reasons for our approach, and I would suggest that it's not based on our ignorance-- except for maybe me.

This isn't about "us forcing our will on them," it's about people needing to take the responsibilities they have to their culture, their heritage, their people, and their revelatory tradition seriously enough to not casually junk it for personal gain.

I get the difficulties of intermarriage. Twice in my life, I was in serious relationships with non-Jewish women I would otherwise have married. Both times, they refused to convert, the relationship ended, I was heartbroken. But I knew it was the right thing to do, and was part of my duty as member of the Jewish People. I wasn't egotistical enough to imagine that this sort of thing had never happened before, and/or that somehow, the strength of my feelings was enough to justify discarding core principles of a tradition that thousands of years of my ancestors had not seen fit to discard, but had stuck by and bled for.

Responsibilities are responsibilities because they're what we have to do, because they are necessary and right, not because they're always fun or always delightful.

Nobody is putting a gun to anybody's head. If a person is bound and determined to marry a non-Jew, no one is going to wrestle them to the ground and beat observance back into them. Nor would I support that. But it does no one any favors to pretend that intermarriage is not transgressive, and is not wrong according to our laws and traditions, and is not harmful to the Jewish People.

I actually hope very much that the lion's share of responsibility for intermarriage is ignorance-- and, indeed, my years teaching Jewish Studies to kids and adults both tell me it almost certainly is, given the sheer depths of widespread Jewish ignorance I encounter everywhere-- because if it's not due to ignorance, it's due to a callous disregard of Jewish law and contempt for Jewish tradition and history. I refuse to believe that anyone who has had a thorough and complete Jewish education, combined with spiritually rich, warm, and creative Jewish life experiences at home and at shul, would turn around and marry a non-Jew, much less do so and expect the rest of the Jewish People to be accepting and warm about having done so.

One of the things I have learned as a parent is that there is no underestimating how much children benefit from clear limits and accountability. And much the same is true of society-- indeed, if America had better limits and accountability for our governmental representatives, we might not be in the cataclysmically idiotic mess we presently find ourselves in.

The same is true for the Jewish People. I get that Liberal Judaism has been trying very hard to avoid the social pressuring and repressive one-upmanship of observance that has been steadily growing in the Orthodox world, and I support avoiding that. But we've gone too far in the opposite direction: when nothing is prohibited, and there are no consequences, then everything is fair game, and nothing is valued.

Is it not reasonable to suspect that this hostility to and rejection of intermarriage serves only to drive the intermarried Jew out of the synagogue? Is it not far, far better to create a welcoming environment for the non-Jew and the children? The religious schools of the Reform movement are blessed with more that a few children of interfaith marriages.

Intermarriage rates in the Reform movement are sky-high, and I don't think that it's coincidental that the Reform kids I have taught over the years are consistently lacking in text skills, in familiarity with the traditional liturgy, in anything approaching traditional experience of holidays and Shabbat, and in Hebrew literacy. Even compared with the Conservative kids, who are quite often severely undereducated in these areas, the Reform kids still inevitably know less. I've had Reform bar mitzvah students who came to me not knowing a word of Hebrew, never having heard Torah chanted properly, never having seen anything approaching a traditional service being led, and their parents want them to memorize a haftarah by rote. I can count on one hand the Reform students I've had who were not children of Reform rabbis, who actually had promising text skills and traditional knowledge: not coincidentally, these students all expressed frustration with their movement, with their shuls, with their siddurim.

The primary argument of the Reform movement for patrilineal descent and embracing intermarriage was that welcoming the non-Jewish spouses and children would induce them to eventually embrace Judaism and Jewish practice. It has not done so. For every child of an intermarriage that I've taught or seen being taught, I've met half a dozen who know nothing and get no education and couldn't care less. For every non-Jewish spouse in an intermarriage that I've helped convert, I've met a dozen who are uninterested in conversion, ignorant about Judaism, and consumed with secular apathy.

I would rather have firm boundaries, and be sure that the people who are part of the congregation want to be part of the congregation, are interested in participating in the congregation, and actually are willing and able to develop the skills to do such participation. Even if that means much smaller congregations.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

What arrogant and disgusting condescension.