A shocking new report from the Pew Research Center has laid bare the heartbreaking reality of Jewish disaffiliation in America, where nearly one in four Jews raised as Jewish having abandoned their religious identity. The findings point to a troubling erosion of Yiddishkeit in the United States, raising urgent concerns about the future of Jewish continuity outside of ultra-Orthodox communities.
The study, which surveyed nearly 37,000 Americans and over 41,000 individuals across 35 other countries, found that just 76% of American Jews continue to identify as Jewish, while a staggering 24% have drifted away. Of those, 17% now classify themselves as religiously unaffiliated. Even more distressing, 2% have converted to Christianity, and 1% to Islam—an alarming sign of assimilation at its worst.
Meanwhile, in Israel, the numbers tell a vastly different story. The study found that 100% of Israeli respondents who were raised Jewish still identify as such. While Pew researchers acknowledge some margin of error, the stark contrast between the American and Israeli Jewish experience is undeniable.
However, even within Israel, shifts in religious observance are occurring. The study found that 22% of Israeli Jews moved between different Jewish subgroups, such as from traditional to secular or from national religious to ultra-Orthodox. Older Israelis were significantly more likely than younger generations to have changed religious affiliation.
Throughout Jewish history, the survival of our people has depended on our steadfast commitment to Torah and mitzvos. The Pew report, however, suggests that this commitment is weakening in America, where the temptations of secular culture continue to lure Jews away from their heritage. The rise of atheism, agnosticism, and the broader category of “nones”—those who claim no religious affiliation—represents an existential threat to Jewish identity.
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15 Responses
The result of going to secular universities and hearing all that trash. As well as parents that want to save money and don’t send to Jewish school, that’s the end of your kids
How can you blame them?
Look at the comments on this site and tell me if we act like the עם הנבחר?
The hate is more than most are willing to tolerate…
And perhaps all the Yeshiva Lite and Bochurim should take a few hours a week and go out and try to bring a fellow Yid closer to אבינו שבשמים.
Let’s have a little Ahavas Yisroel for our fellow brothers.
How do they identify someone as being Jewish, especially in America. I suggest that is someone was not raised in a kosher, Shabbos observant home and/or attended non-Jewish schools for the bulk of their education – they are already assimilated. The reality is that by World War II, there were very Jews who kept kosher, Shabbos or ever attended a day school.
If a survey showed yeshiva students and Beis Yaakov girls were going off the derekh at such rates, that would be a problem. If secular Jews (who for all purposes have left Yiddishkeit) are no longer identify as Jews, that is no hiddush and not significant.
Like what Noach Weinberg ztl said, the holocaust in America is no less than it was in Germany.
But Lakewood Ir HaKodesh will save it!
In Israel it’s even worse; an even larger percentage identify as Zionist rather than Yidden.
UJM, you are the problem. You push away a Yid because you don’t like his way of life. You and your ilk are the root cause of the problem. Shame on you.
@akuperma: wrong, however far a Jewish person may be, there is always the “pintele Yid” to save him. IF the children are halachically Jewish, there is a chance for them to become fully fledged Torah observant Yidden, if however, sadly, the family totally abandons their affiliation to the Jewish Nation, the chance of that to happen is far less – AND THIS IS A TRAGEDY!
This was already a problem 175 years ago but we’ve managed to survive. He could’ve been writing this today.
In a letter to his Rebbe in Europe, Rav Avraham Yosef Rice, the 1st “Real” Ruv in America wrote about the state of American Jewry in the 1840’s
“And one more thing I wish to disclose to you my revered master and teacher…and my soul weepeth in the dark on account of it, namely, that the character of religious life in this land is on the lowest level; most of the people are eating non-kosher food, are violating the Shabbos in public…and there are thousands who have been assimilated among the non-Jewish population and have married non-Jewish women. Under these circumstances, my mind is perplexed, and I wonder whether a Jew may live in a land such as this.”
if they ask for self-identification, then 25% that are not Jewish any more, probably were not halachically Jewish to begin with! Need to see the data here better explained.
From orthodox, to Modern orthodox, to conservative, to reform, to church …or nada.
Maybe frm not getting involved or even bothering to vote for Eretz Hakodesh is tantamount to
לא תעמוד
Israeli zionists can not become totally cut off from Yiddishkeit, unless they leave the country (and become our problem).
The alternatives to Yiddishkeit are few in Eretz Yisrael. They aren’t about to become Muslims (and most Middle East Christians have fled the region). Remember that a major aspect of escaping from Yiddishkeit is to reject the existence of a creator, not to mention escape from restrictive laws governing food, clothing, lifestyle and sexual behavior – and the Muslims are just as restrictive as we are, and anti-Jewish to boot. In Eretz Yisrael, atheist Jews have no choice but to be just that – there is no alternative identity that does use Jewishness as a reference.
It could also be yeshiva hashkafa becoming too black and white and driving people away
lakewoodbt- i think you meant Harav Noach Weinberg
wasnt there a pew survey saying that 30% of chareidim are atheists
not quite sure i believe this – i come from an extremely assimilated family to the point that many of my close relatives and also distant relatives either married out or if not don’t keep anything (kashrus, Shabbos, etc) but they would never not identify as Jews – they are Jewish and many are not only proud of being Jews but wouldn’t be anything else – and oddly enough many who married out have children who claim to be Jewish even though it isn’t halachically possible – i have relatives who are not halachically Jewish who still claim to be Jewish through their father’s family – we have to be careful who calculates our statistics for us – this Pew group doesn’t actually understand Jews …..