Articles

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These are challenging times for America and its citizens. The depth of the divisions are significant. There has emerged a contest over what America represents. This is as much a cultural contest as it is political one. The basis of these contemporary tensions are not framed in the moment but in fact take this nation back to its founding. Whether we focus on the question of race, the relationship of the state to its religious moorings, or the issue of how the founders understand liberty and equality, the nation’s very identity and character are being reframed by the Supreme Court’s most recent decisions.

A few years ago, I prepared an essay entitled, “The End of the Jewish Century, 1918-2018.”[1] In that article, I raised the question of whether this moment might signal the beginning of the end of Jewish peoplehood? As I catalogued the reasons for this profound change, along with what new possibilities might lay ahead. I noted that “Jewish coherence appears to have come undone.” If at one time we saw ourselves, as Abraham Joshua Heschel had suggested, as God’s stake in human history, we are today in search of our collective identity.

Are we seeing new voter behaviors?

Politics represents an extension of who we are.[1] All of the social forces acting upon us serve to define our political outlook. Within the Jewish political context, we know that religious affiliation, ethnic orientation, generational status and one’s urban-suburban status are all key influencers in shaping both voting patterns and candidate giving.

Over the past six months, a number of new studies on American religious behavior have been released. Here we are examining 10 of these recent reports. Moving forward, these findings will have implications for Jewish communal practice.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected Jewish religious practice. For two years, American synagogues and independent minyanim have struggled to cope with the ebb and flow of this public health crisis. The continuing CDC warnings for people to avoid “congregate settings”—the very definition of a congregation—have undeniably altered in-person attendance patterns in all sorts of synagogue offerings, especially worship services.

In 2022, we are witnessing a set of new behavioral outcomes that are impacting religious life in our society. These emerging trends, mostly drawn from generic and Christian sources, are also likely to shape how Judaism will be able to compete and perform in the 21st Century.

The war now raging in the Ukraine reminds us of the deeply embedded connection that Jews have had with this society. Nor should we forget that nation’s long history of anti-Jewish expression and behavior!

The material posted below is designed to inform non-American Jews about the unique construct and character of the Jewish community in the United States:
To better understand Jewish Americans, one must both appreciate American culture and have knowledge of this nation’s history. American political values and the social norms of this society are reflected in the behavior and belief systems of this country’s Jews. The Cult of Synthesis suggests that what is Jewish is American, and correspondingly, what is American must be seen as Jewish.