Snapshots of Jewish Life

Profile of American Jews

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Jews All U.S. Ideology 46% 24% Moderate 28% 31% Conservative 23% 40% Political Party Democrat 45% 32% Independent 29% 31% Republican 12% 23% Occupation Professional 40% 15% Managers 24% 20% White collar 19% 19% Business owners 8% 9% Unskilled blue collar 5% 16% Skilled blue collar 3% 19% Age 18-29 15% 23% 30-44 27% 35% 45-64 34% 25% 65 and over 24% 17% Education High school or less 13% 59% Some college 27% 21% College graduate 24% 10% Graduate school 35% 9% Income Less than $40,000 28% 52% $40,000-$59,999 18% 21% $60,000 or more 38% 20% Don’t know/refused 16% 7%

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“If the Jewish culture disappears, its potential for leavening the general culture disappears. If you would remove the Jews, you would have gaping holes. There is so much of modern culture, like it or not, that is the construction of Jews. Freud and Einstein . . . without their Jewish background, religious or assimilated, their way of thinking would not be the same.

--Chaim Potok

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Observance: Jews

Low: 40%

Moderate: 34%

High: 26%

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Affiliation

Orthodox: 9%

Conservative: 23%

Reform: 29%

Non-affiliated: 17%

Non-practicing: 21%

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Synagogue membership

Never: 32%

Not currently, but in the past: 23%

Currently a member: 44%

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“Jews are like a Russian doll, The outside is assimilated, and it fits into society. But the inner doll can never fit in totally because, quite simply, Jews are not Christians.”

--Cynthia Ozick, writer

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“Ethnicity is not going to carry American Judaism into the next century. It’s fading.”

--Anita Diamant, Massachusetts writer

Source: L.A. Times polls (U.S. figures from January 1998 and April 1996 polls)