Where Did We Go Wrong?

WHERE DID WE GO WRONG? HOW TO REVERSE THE TREND FROM PEW'S STUDY ON AMERICAN JEWISH LIFE "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You shall become a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you" Gonesis 122 JUDAISM, THE PEOPLE AND THE NATION "And G-d shall scatter you among all the peoples from one end of the earth to the other.." Jews are about 0.2% of the world's population Deuteronony 2864 Jews have survived 2800 YEARS OF EXILE AND PERSECUTION THERE HAVE BEEN FEWER THAN 10 EXILES of an entire people from their country in all history GENERALLY, EXILED PEOPLES DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY Jews have been exiled from their country multiple times They are the only nation to ever return to their land from exile Jewish people live in nearly every country in every part of the world UNIQUE PHENOMENON THIS IS A IN HUMAN HISTORY Jews have maintained their national identity while in the diaspora JUDAISM IN THE AMERICAN DIASPORA Since 1950's: number of adults who claim to be Jewish by religion has dropped by 50% RELIGION >4% 1 in 5 Jews describe themselves as "having no religion" 97% 86% 81% 74% 68% <2% GREATEST 1914- 1927 SILENT 1928 - 1945 BOOMER 1946 - 1964 GEN X 1965 - 1980 MILLENNIAL after 1900 0.5% of the U.S adult population 1950s 2013 JEWS BY RELIGION JEWS OF NO RELIGION Now less than 2% of the population FERTILITY Average number of children for adults ages 40-59 ORTHODOX JEWS JEWS OF NO RELIGION REFORM JEWS CONSERVATIVE JEWS GENERAL PUBLIC 4.1 1.5 1.7 1.8 2.2 Attachment to Israel tends to be much more prevalent among older American Jews ATTACHMENT TO ISRAEL Attachment to Israel by age: Attachment to Israel by political affiliation: AGES 18 - 29 AGES 30 - 49 AGES 50 - 64 65 OR OLDER 65 *** JEWISH DEMOCRATS JEWISH REPUBLICANS 83° 60% 61% 75% 79% SAY THEY ARE AT LEAST SOMEWHAT ATTACHED TO ISRAEL HALF OF THESE ARE VERY ATTACHED Jews who identify themselves as: DENOMINATION & AFFILIATION Smaller movements 3.5% 35 Reform No denomination 30 18% Conservative Orthodox 13.5 ORTHODOX RETENTION, BY AGE 83 DENOMINATIONAL AFFILIATION, BY AGE 50 40 29 29 24 13 11 10 29 10 AGES 18-29 30-49 50-64 65+ 18-29 | 30-49 50-64 65+ Among those raised as Orthodox Jews by religion, who are now... NO REFORM CONSERVATIVE ORTHODOX OTHER denomination PROUD TO BE JEWISH 94% Including 97% of Jews by religion SAY THEY ARE "proud to be Jewish" and 83% of Jews of no religion 63% Say they feel responsible to care for Jews around the world 85% of Jews by religion share this feeling: much less prevalent among Jews of no religion BECOME A WELCOMING COMMUNITY Say they have 75% a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people FOR ALL AMERICAN JEWS TO EXPLORE, LEARN AND EXPERIENCE GIVE THE GIFT OF OUR SHARED HERITAGE and the beauty of Torah life. Let's open our synagogues, open our homes, open our hearts. INVITE. COMMUNICATE. ENGAGE. Sources: MCommunity Engagement http://www.patheos.com/Library/Judaism.html http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/7-wonders-of-jewish-history http://www.pewforum.org/tiles/2013/10/jewish-american-survey-full-report.pdf http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/05/130530-worlds-oldest-torah-scroll-bible-bologna-carbon-dating photos: OU.org DIVILOPD Y N NOWSOURCING II