Index
back to Judaism - attend frequently, USA
| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judaism - attend rarely or never | USA | 3,000,000 | 1.00% | - | - | 1985 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 48. | "...surveys conducted under Jewish auspices in the 1980s found that in hardly any of the communities for which data are available do anywhere near this percentage of Jews claim to attend synagogue 'frequently'--a response sometimes interpreted to mean weekly attendance and sometimes attendance at least once a month. Furthermore, in most communities, between one-third and one-half of all Jews attend religious services either never or only on High Holy Days. " [Other sources indicate approx. 6 million Jews, or 2% of U.S.] |
| Judaism - attend synagogue | China: Kaifeng | 50 | - | - | - | 1725 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982); pg. 177-178. | "In the early 1700s Jesuit missionaries... catalogued symptoms of the Jewish decline... Only forty to fifty men came to the synagogue for holidays, and barely a minyan for the Sabbath. " |
| Judaism - attend synagogue | Maryland: Baltimore | - | - | - | - | 1985 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 49. | "In Baltimore the proportion who attended synagogue only 'a few times a year' rose from 37% to 52% between 1968 and 1985 (although levels for more frequent attendance also rose modestly in that period). In short, American Jews, never ardent synagogue goers, appear to be attending religious services less than ever. " |
| Judaism - attend synagogue | New York: Rochester | - | - | - | - | 1980 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 49. | "While there is ample evidence that synagogue attendance earlier in the century was quite low, it appears that in recent decades attendance at synagogue services is even lower. In Rochester, for example, 14% claimed to have attended services weekly in 1961, compared with 2% in 1980; attendance only on High Holy Days rose from 19% to 45%. |
| Judaism - attend synagogue | USA | 660,000 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Mims, Bob. "Virtual Shabbat CD released to rebuild eroding ranks of practicing Jews " in Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Oct. 1999 (v. online 3 Oct. 99). | "...of the nation's 6 million Jews... just 11 percent attend weekly synagogue meetings. " |
| Judaism - attend synagogue | world | - | - | - | - | 1977 | Bermant, Chaim. The Jews. New York: NY Times Books (1977); pg. 14. | "Thus, for example, the majority of Jews still belong to a synagogue (though only a minority attend them)... " |
| Judaism - believe in God | USA | 2,509,600 | 1.44% | - | - | 1989 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993). [Orig. source: Steven M. Cohen, Content or Continuity? Alternative Bases for Commitment: The 1989 National Survey of American Jews (New York: American Jewish Committee, 1991), pg. 67.]; pg. 63. | "In a 1989 survey the sociologist Steven M. Cohen asked a sample population of Jews about their belief in God and received skeptical responses from nearly one in five respondents; by contrast, in the general American population, over nine out of ten affirm a belief in God. "; pg. 215: "Cohen's sample was selected from a consumer mail panel and therefore probably does not as accurately reflect the gamut of American Jewry as do some demographic surveys. But the broader patterns it traces are highly suggestive and probably close to the mark. " |
| Judaism - Core | USA | 5,515,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 50. | "The 1991 national survey differentiated between categories of Jews: (1) born Jews who claimed their religion was Judaism; (2) Jews by Choice (converts to Judaism); (3) born Jews claiming no religion--that is, secular Jews. Together, these Jews were defined as the Core Jewish Population. In addition, the survey included: (4) individuals born and/or raised Jewish who converted to another religion; (6) children under the age of 18 being raised with another religion; (7) Gentile adults living with Jews. The Core Jewish Population was estimated to number 5,515,000 individuals; the rest numbered a bit over 3,000,000 individuals. " |
| Judaism - Core | USA | 5,500,000 | - | - | - | 1993 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (10th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1995). | 5,500,000 "Core Jews ": i.e. religious (even nominally religious) Jews. Compared to 6,840,000 total Jews in U.S., i.e. the "Jewish Identified Population ", ethnic Jews, including those who practice another religion. |
| Judaism - disbelieve in God | USA | 627,400 | 0.36% | - | - | 1989 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993). [Orig. source: Steven M. Cohen, Content or Continuity? Alternative Bases for Commitment: The 1989 National Survey of American Jews (New York: American Jewish Committee, 1991), pg. 67.]; pg. 63. | "In a 1989 survey the sociologist Steven M. Cohen asked a sample population of Jews about their belief in God and received skeptical responses from nearly one in five respondents; by contrast, in the general American population, over nine out of ten affirm a belief in God. "; pg. 215: "Cohen's sample was selected from a consumer mail panel and therefore probably does not as accurately reflect the gamut of American Jewry as do some demographic surveys. But the broader patterns it traces are highly suggestive and probably close to the mark. " |
| Judaism - European | India | 1,300 | - | - | - | 1945 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982); pg. 194. | "The Jews of India are a varied lot, divided into distinct communities... When India's Jewish population was at its greatest (during the mid-1940s), Bene Israel made up two-thirds of its approx. 30,000 Jews. The others fell into equally well-defined categories:... --About 1,300 European Jews, most of whom fled to India (mostly Bombay) in the 1930s and 40s. Few ever considered India their home, and nearly all left immediately after the war. " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | California | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1972 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 76. | "In 1972 homosexual men and women organized Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles, the first gay synagogue. " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | Florida: Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | 500 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1999 | "Gay synagogue in Florida marks 25th anniversary " in Dallas Morning News, 28 Aug. 1999; pg. 7G. | "Oakland Parks, Fla. -- For a quarter century the Congregation Etz Chaim has been serving gay and lesbian Jewish people. The synagogue first met in private homes. Now its 250 member families share space with a Unitarian Universalist Church... It is Reform, although it has Orthodox and Conservative members. " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | Florida: Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | 500 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1999 | *LINK* Stack, Peggy Fletcher (compiler; original source: AP). "World View " in Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Aug. 1999 (viewed online 28 Aug. 1999). | "GAY SYNAGOGUE: For a quarter century the Congregation Etz Chaim has been serving the gay and lesbian Jewish community. The synagogue first met in private homes in Miami-Dade County, then in an artist's studio, then a storefront. Now its 250 member families share space with the Unitarian Universalist Church in Oakland Park. The congregation is led by Greg Kanter, its first full-time rabbi who is gay. It is Reform, although it has Orthodox and Conservative members. " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | Georgia: Atlanta | 140 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1995 | Witt, Lynn; S. Thomas & Eric Marcus (ed.) Out in All Directions: A Treasury of Gay and Lesbian America. New York: Warner Books (1995); pg. 319. | "...Bet Havarim, the gay and lesbian synagogue in Atlanta, is affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement... Bet Havarim had its beginnings in a group of gay and lesbian Jews who met socially in the late 1970s and early 1980s and then disbanded. However, in 1985, some of the former members decided that it was important to create an explicitly Jewish community. The synagogue now boasts more than seventy families, a lesbian softball team (Burning Butches), and six committees... " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | New York: New York City | 1,100 | - | - | - | 1993 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 76. | "In 1972 homosexual men and women organized Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles, the first gay synagogue. Since then approximately twenty additional congregations have been established, with the largest, Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in New York, claiming to have eleven hundred members and two thousand worshipers at High Holiday services. " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | USA | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1972 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 76. | "In 1972 homosexual men and women organized Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles, the first gay synagogue. " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | USA | - | - | 21 units |
- | 1993 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 76. | "In 1972 homosexual men and women organized Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles, the first gay synagogue. Since then approximately twenty additional congregations have been established... " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | USA | - | - | 25 units |
- | 1995 | Witt, Lynn; S. Thomas & Eric Marcus (ed.) Out in All Directions: A Treasury of Gay and Lesbian America. New York: Warner Books (1995); pg. 318. | "Bet Havarim is one of more than twenty-five gay and lesbian synagogues in the United States. " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | USA | - | - | 40 units |
- | 1999 | *LINK* Murphy, Caryle (Washington Post). "Gay Jews Create Own Place of Worship " in Salt Lake Tribune (Saturday, 10 April 1999; viewed online 11 April 1999). | "Bet Mishpachah, one of about 40 gay and lesbian Jewish congregations in the country, is led by its dues-paying congregants... " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | Washington, D.C. | 300 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1999 | *LINK* Murphy, Caryle (Washington Post). "Gay Jews Create Own Place of Worship " in Salt Lake Tribune (Saturday, 10 April 1999; viewed online 11 April 1999). | "Today, Bet Mishpachah, or House of the Family, is a thriving congregation with more than 300 gay men and lesbians. Its High Holy Day services draw 600 to 800 worshipers... its weekly Sabbath services are now held at a local Jewish bastion -- the D.C. Jewish Community Center in Northwest Washington. The area's only gay and lesbian synagogue, Bet Mishpachah provides... |
| Judaism - gay synagogues | world | - | - | - | - | 1999 | Jacobs, Louis. Oxford Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (1999); pg. 93-94. | "Homosexuality: ...It is clear from the above [Talmudic and Biblical] sources that homosexual practices are severely frowned upon but that female homosexuality is treated far less severely than male homosexuality... Orthodox Judaism continues to maintain that homosexual acts are sinful although many Orthodox Jews might accept the view that since, nowadays, homosexuality is seen to be a condition, it should be left to God to determine whether a homosexual can or cannot help himself. Orthodox Jews certainly do not countenance 'gay synagogues'. The Reform movement in the USA has allowed gay synagogues to be affiliated to the movement but would not ordain a gay man or lesbian as a Rabbi. Only a very few Reform Rabbis would agree to officiate at a 'marriage' of two males or two females. " |
| Judaism - gay synagogues - attendance | Washington, D.C. | 100 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Murphy, Caryle (Washington Post). "Gay Jews Create Own Place of Worship " in Salt Lake Tribune (Saturday, 10 April 1999; viewed online 11 April 1999). | "Weekly Sabbath services, which usually draw about 100 people, are led by a man and a woman who stand before an ark sheltering the synagogue's two Torahs... Members wrote the prayer book, using inclusive, gender-neutral language. " |
| Judaism - homeless | New York: New York City | 3,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Kephart, William M. & William W. Zellner. Extraordinary Groups: An Examination of Unconventional Life-Styles (5th Ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press (1994); pg. 181. | "The New York Times estimated in 1990 that there were 3,000 homeless Jews in New York City. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan New York Council on Jewish Poverty said it is a myth to believe that all Jews are smart and successful. " |
| Judaism - independent chavurot | North America | 60,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Kertzer, Morris N. & Lawrence A. Hoffman. What is a Jew (New & Completely Revised Ed.); New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. (1993); pg. 18. | "In 1979, many chavurot banded together into a national association, and in 1981 that organization merged with the Reconstructionist movement. The number of Jews who still belong to independent chavurot is miniscule, probably less than 1% of the entire North American Jewish population [of 6 million]. " |
| Judaism - independent chavurot | USA | - | - | - | - | 1995 | Witt, Lynn; S. Thomas & Eric Marcus (ed.) Out in All Directions: A Treasury of Gay and Lesbian America. New York: Warner Books (1995); pg. 319-320. | "Beyond Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox denominations of Judaism, there are alternatives. The Jewish Renewal and Havurah [chavurot] movements have drawn in many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender folks. Most services are held in members' homes without paid leaders. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Dyke Shabbos is a monthly gathering that has brought lesbians and bisexual Jewish women together for more than fifteen years... Another group, Queer Minyan, grew out of the Jewish Renewal movement and meets monthly to celebrate shabbat in an earth-centered, feminist, and particularly joyous queer way. " |
| Judaism - interfaith synagogues | Connecticut | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1990 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 79-80. | "...the interfaith congregation. The first of these groups, the Interfaith Chavurah for Liberal Judaism, was founded in Hartford, Connecticut, during the summer of 1990... A member of a national organization called Parveh: The Alliance of Adult Children of Jewish-Gentile Intermarriage, the congregation gives equal time to both the Jewish and Christian perspectives... " |
| Judaism - interfaith synagogues | USA | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1990 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 79-80. | "...the interfaith congregation. The first of these groups, the Interfaith Chavurah for Liberal Judaism, was founded in Hartford, Connecticut, during the summer of 1990... A member of a national organization called Parveh: The Alliance of Adult Children of Jewish-Gentile Intermarriage, the congregation gives equal time to both the Jewish and Christian perspectives... " |
| Judaism - Jewish school enrollment | Tennessee - Middle | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1999 | *LINK* web site: "Shirley Zeitlen and Company Realtors "; web page: "Religion " [in Nashville, Tenn.] (viewed 15 June 1999). | "There are approximately 6,000 Jews in Middle Tennessee who comprise four Jewish congregations, one Orthodox, one Conservative, two Reform, and a Jewish day school. " |
| Judaism - Jewish school enrollment | USA | 190,000 | - | - | - | 1940 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 5. | "...in 1940 approximately 190,000 children attended Jewish schools; this figure rose to 231,028 in 1946... " |
| Judaism - Jewish school enrollment | USA | 231,028 | - | - | - | 1946 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 5. | "...in 1940 approximately 190,000 children attended Jewish schools; this figure rose to 231,028 in 1946... " |
| Judaism - Jewish school enrollment | USA | 250,000 | - | - | - | 1946 | Wuthnow, Robert. The Restructuring of American Religion: Society and Faith Since World War II, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (1988); pg. 19-20. | "...weekday and Sabbath schools for more than 250,000 children... " |
| Judaism - Jewish school enrollment | USA | 488,432 | - | - | - | 1956 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 5. | "...in 1940 approximately 190,000 children attended Jewish schools; this figure rose to 231,028 in 1946 and then doubled to 488,432 by 1956 " |
| Judaism - Jewish school enrollment | USA | 590,000 | - | - | - | 1962 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 5. | "...in 1940 approximately 190,000 children attended Jewish schools; this figure rose to 231,028 in 1946 and then doubled to 488,432 by 1956; finally, by the early 1960s enrollments peaked at approximately 590,000. " |
| Judaism - Jewish school enrollment | USA | 357,101 | - | - | - | 1977 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (9th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1990); pg. 126. | "Children are enrolled in Sabbath schools, weekday schools, all-day schools, Yiddish schools, and release-time schools. In 1977 there were 357,101 children in all the weekday and Sabbath schools, but it was still estimated that not more than 40% were enrolled. " |
| Judaism - Jews by Choice | USA | 185,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 81. | "The National Jewish Population Study of 1990 provides detailed data on Jews by Choice [converts to Judaism], a group thought to number some 185,000 individuals. " |
| Judaism - kosher | USA | 1,800,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Russell, Chandler. Racing Toward 2001; Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, MI (1992). [Orig. source: Ann Levin, Associated Press, "It's Kosher to Be Kosher Again, " Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 1990, pt. F, pg. 16]; pg. 187. | "Queens College sociologist Steven Cohen estimates that 10% of U.S. Jews are Orthodox, and kosher-keeping kitchens number somewhere between 500,000 and 1.8 million, depending on who's defining kosher. " |
| Judaism - light Sabbath candles | USA | 2,160,000 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Mims, Bob. "Virtual Shabbat CD released to rebuild eroding ranks of practicing Jews " in Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Oct. 1999 (v. online 3 Oct. 99). | "...of the nation's 6 million Jews... Only 36 percent of Jewish homes light Sabbath candles... " |
| Judaism - major congregations | USA | - | - | 200 units |
- | 1881 | Glazer, Nathan. American Judaism (Second Edition); Chicago: University of Chicago Press (1972); pg. 38. | "From a list of about 200 major congregations in existence in 1881, drawn up by Allen Tarshish, it can be estimated that perhaps a dozen were still Orthodox by that year. " |
| Judaism - members of priestly families | world | 20,000 | - | - | - | 90 C.E. | Frankforter, A. Daniel. A History of the Christian Movement; Chicago: Nelson-Hall (1978); pg. 4,7. | "The ancient Jewish historian Josephus (Against Apion 2. 108) claims the priestly families had about 20,000 members organized in 24 divisions. "; pg. 7: Josephus wrote about A.D. 90. |
| Judaism - nondenominational | California: Los Angeles County | 97,188 | 1.09% | - | - | 1990 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 52. | "The rejection of a denominational label by 23% of New York Jews, 28% of Los Angeles Jews, 30% of Miami Jews, 20% of Chicago Jews, and 22% of Philadelphia Jews is particularly noteworthy, given that these are the five largest Jewish communities in the U.S. and encompass close to 60% of the national Jewish population. " |
| Judaism - nondenominational | Florida: Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | 91,200 | 2.85% | - | - | 1990 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 52. | "The rejection of a denominational label by 23% of New York Jews, 28% of Los Angeles Jews, 30% of Miami Jews, 20% of Chicago Jews, and 22% of Philadelphia Jews is particularly noteworthy, given that these are the five largest Jewish communities in the U.S. and encompass close to 60% of the national Jewish population. " |
| Judaism - nondenominational | New York: New York City | 183,011 | 2.51% | - | - | 1990 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 52. | "The rejection of a denominational label by 23% of New York Jews, 28% of Los Angeles Jews, 30% of Miami Jews, 20% of Chicago Jews, and 22% of Philadelphia Jews is particularly noteworthy, given that these are the five largest Jewish communities in the U.S. and encompass close to 60% of the national Jewish population. " |
| Judaism - nondenominational | Pennsylvania: Philadelphia | 13,024 | 0.81% | - | - | 1990 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 52. | "The rejection of a denominational label by 23% of New York Jews, 28% of Los Angeles Jews, 30% of Miami Jews, 20% of Chicago Jews, and 22% of Philadelphia Jews is particularly noteworthy, given that these are the five largest Jewish communities in the U.S. and encompass close to 60% of the national Jewish population. " |
| Judaism - nondenominational | Vermont: Montpelier | 320 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1993 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993); pg. 77. | "And in Montpelier, Vermont, eighty families practice 'new-age Judaism' in a nondenominational synagogue that functions without a rabbi. " |
| Judaism - nonpracticing | USA | 4,200,000 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Mims, Bob. "Virtual Shabbat CD released to rebuild eroding ranks of practicing Jews " in Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Oct. 1999 (v. online 3 Oct. 99). | "It is with no small amount of concern that Jewish organizations and leaders mull the disturbing demographics of their faith. Statistics show that up to 70 percent of the nation's 6 million Jews are either inactive or no longer identify themselves with the religion of their childhoods. Indeed, 1 million, or 54 percent of all American Jewish children are being raised as non-Jews, and 52 percent of Jews who marry in the U.S. are wedding outside the faith. Only 36 percent of Jewish homes light Sabbath candles, and just 11 percent attend weekly synagogue meetings. " |
| Judaism - nonpracticing | world | 11,088,750 | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #26: research conducted by David Bogosian, Research Director of the 'US Center for World Mission': "Over 130,000 Messianic Jews " | "Bogosian reports that studies show that 75% of Jews are no longer practising, many having become secular or atheists... "; same report: 14,785,000 total Jews worldwide |
| Judaism - practicing | Israel | - | 24.90% | - | - | 2000 | *LINK* AP. "Religious and secular Jews clash on daylight-saving time " in Deseret News (17 Feb 2000) | "However, observant Jews, who make up about 30 percent of Israel's Jewish population, say daylight-saving time discourages people from observing religious ritual, such as morning prayers, which would have to be held an hour earlier than usual. " [Other sources indicate Israel is 83% Jewish. 30% of 83% is 24.9%] |
| Judaism - practicing | USA | 1,800,000 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Mims, Bob. "Virtual Shabbat CD released to rebuild eroding ranks of practicing Jews " in Salt Lake Tribune, 2 Oct. 1999 (v. online 3 Oct. 99). | "Statistics show that up to 70 percent of the nation's 6 million Jews are either inactive or no longer identify themselves with the religion of their childhoods. Indeed, 1 million, or 54 percent of all American Jewish children are being raised as non-Jews, and 52 percent of Jews who marry in the U.S. are wedding outside the faith. Only 36 percent of Jewish homes light Sabbath candles, and just 11 percent attend weekly synagogue meetings. " |
| Judaism - practicing | world | 3,696,250 | - | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* DAWN Fridayfax 1998 #26: research conducted by David Bogosian, Research Director of the 'US Center for World Mission': "Over 130,000 Messianic Jews " | "Bogosian reports that studies show that 75% of Jews are no longer practising, many having become secular or atheists... "; same report: 14,785,000 total Jews worldwide |
| Judaism - religious | USA | 3,137,000 | 1.80% | - | - | 1990 | Kosmin, B. & S. Lachman. One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society; Harmony Books: New York (1993); pg. 15-17. | Table 1-2: Self-Described Adherence of U.S. Adult Population 1990. Phone survey w/ 113,000 people; by Graduate School of City U. of New York. [2.2% ethnic/cultural Jewish] |
| Judaism - Russian | Israel | 1,500,000 | - | - | - | 1977 | Bermant, Chaim. The Jews. New York: NY Times Books (1977); pg. 241. | "About half of Israel's three million Jews can trace their origins to the same area [Russian Pale]... " |
| Judaism - Russian | world | 12,000,000 | - | - | - | 1977 | Bermant, Chaim. The Jews. New York: NY Times Books (1977); pg. 241. | "The [American Jewish] community contains a few Sephardim who can trace their origins back to the Iberian peninsula, some German Jews whose families came over after the 1848 revolution or as refugees from Hitler, but the overwhelming majority of American Jewry is Russian, the sons and grandsons of the two million Jews who left the Russian Pale of Settlement between 1881 and 1914. (About half of Israel's three million Jews can trace their origins to the same area, as can the larger part of British, South African and Latin American Jewry. In fact of the fourteen million Jews in the world, about twelve million may be classed as Russian. " |
| Judaism - say religion not very important to them | USA | 941,100 | 0.54% | - | - | 1989 | Wertheimer, Jack. A People Divided: Juadism in Contemporary America. New York: Basic Books (A Division of Harper Collins) (1993). [Orig. source: Steven M. Cohen, Content or Continuity? Alternative Bases for Commitment: The 1989 National Survey of American Jews (New York: American Jewish Committee, 1991), pg. 67; The People's Religion, pg. 36.]; pg. 63. | "In a 1989 survey the sociologist Steven M. Cohen asked a sample population of Jews... Cohen also found that 30% of jews viewed religion as not very important in their lives, whereas Gallup polls find only 14% of the larger populace answering this way. " |
| Judaism - secular | Israel | 1,500,000 | 41.00% | - | - | 1992 | Ovendale, Ritchie. The Longman Companion to The Middle East since 1914. London & New York: Longman (1992); pg. 219. | "There are around 14 million Jews in the world, but increasingly many of these follow secular practices, even in Israel where it is estimated that around half the Jewish population has secular convictions. Around 6 million of the world's Jews live in the U.S. and over 3 million in Israel. " |
| Judaism - secular | Israel | - | 70.00% | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Associated Press. "Religion around the world ", title of subsection: "ORTHODOX JEWS PRAY AT VIGIL IN PROTEST OF COURT RULINGS " in Desert News, Saturday, March 6, 1999 (viewed online 14 May 1999). | "Orthodox Jews make up only 10% of Israel's population. But they control the parliament through political parties. The rulings put them at odds with secular Jews, who comprise 70% of the population. " |
| Judaism - secular | Israel | - | - | - | - | 1999 | Cahill, Mary Jane. Israel (series: Major World Nations). Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers (1999); pg. 68-69. | "Opposing this extreme [Orthodox] position are secular (nonreligious) Jews, who do not believe that Jewish beliefs should govern everyday life for all Jews... Secular Jews make up the majority of the population and have prevented the Orthodox Jews from creating a theocracy. " |
| Judaism - secular | world | - | - | - | - | 1999 | Jacobs, Louis. Oxford Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (1999); pg. 218-219. | "Secularism: Although Judaism makes a distinction, as in the Havdalah benediction, between the sacred and profane, it acknowledges that secular life is good in itself, for which God is to be thanked; hence the various benedictions over food, drink, and other physical and material pleasures. Usually the Jew is encouraged by his religion to live firmly in the 'secular city', provided life's spiritual side is also given its due. The Jew is not presented with the stark choice of either gaining the world and losing his soul or gaining his soul and losing the world. He can have both. " |
| Judaism - secular | world | - | - | - | - | 1999 | Jacobs, Louis. Oxford Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (1999); pg. 218-219. | "Secularism: ...In modern times, some Jews, who have lost their belief in God and the Jewish religion while still attached to what is called 'the Jewish way of life', have tried to develop a form of 'secular Judaism', in which Jewish observances and even prayer are cultivated not in obedience to the will of God but as colourful Jewish folk-ways. A good case can be made for a non-believing Jew to follow the Jewish way of life as a means, perhaps the only means, for the enrichment of life. From the religious point of view it might even be said that such a Jew is doing God's will without knowing it. Yet, when all is said and done, 'secular Judaism' is a contradiction in terms since Judaism is a religion not a secular philosophy. " |
| Judaism - unaffiliated | Germany | 40,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* web site: "Religionswissenschaftlicher Medien- und Informationsdienst e.V. " [REMID: Religious Studies Media and Information Service, Marburg, Germany]; web page: "Informationen und Standpunkte " (viewed 2 Aug. 1999). | Table: "Religious communities in Germany: Numbers of members " [data published July, 1999]; Listed as "Juden ohne Gemeindezugehörigkeit " in table. Source: REMID. Listed in "Judaism " section. |
| Judaism - unaffiliated | USA | 1,832,960 | 0.77% | - | - | 1983 | *LINK* web page: "A REVIEW OF DATA ON JEWISH-AMERICANS " (1998) [Orig. source: Feldstein, Donald. The American Jewish Community in the 21st Century - A Projection. New York, NY: American Jewish Congress (March 1984)] | "In 1983, there were 5,728,000 persons who identified themselves as Jews in the U.S., comprising 2.4 percent of the population... 26% of Jews today identify themselves as Reform; 36% as Conservative; 6% as Orthodox; and 32% are not affiliated. " |
| Judaism - unaffiliated | USA | 2,907,000 | - | - | - | 1990 | Mead, Frank S. (revised by Samuel S. Hill), Handbook of Denominations in the United States (9th Ed.), Abingdon Press: Nashville, Tenn. (1990); pg. 124. | "Today 5,814,000 American Jews have a widely varying synagogue membership (approximately 50%). " |
| Judeo-Christian | world | - | - | - | - | 1999 | Jacobs, Louis. Oxford Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (1999); pg. 26-27. | "Christianity:... In modern times there has been far greater co-operation between Jews and Christians, many Jews welcoming Jewish-Christian dialogues in which the aim of each side is to understand the position of the other, and even learn from it, without in any way moving from its own. Some Jews believe that Judaism and Christianity have so much in common that it is permissible to speak of a Jewish Christian tradition. But there is the strongest opposition on the part of all Jews, Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform, to the attempts by Christian missionary groups to convert Jews to Christianity. " |
| Jumano | North America - Southwestern Deserts and Mesa Lands | 10,000 | - | - | - | 1572 C.E. | Terrell, John Upton. American Indian Almanac. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. (1974); pg. 27. | Table: "Southwestern Deserts and Mesa Lands: Earliest Population Estimates " (mainly relying on James Mooney, John R. Swanson, & A. L. Kroeber); "Jumano (1572): 10,000 (?) " |
| Jumano | world | 10,000 | - | - | - | 1572 C.E. | Terrell, John Upton. American Indian Almanac. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co. (1974); pg. 27. | Table: "Southwestern Deserts and Mesa Lands: Earliest Population Estimates " (mainly relying on James Mooney, John R. Swanson, & A. L. Kroeber); "Jumano (1572): 10,000 (?) " |
