Synagogues should not sit empty: rabbis must go out and seek community

Rabbi GABI KALTMANN challenges his colleagues to find ways to fill their underutilised buildings.

WITH THE RELEASE of the 2021 census results, Australian religious leaders across the spectrum had their suspicions confirmed: now, more than ever before, Australians are less affiliated to organised religion. With just a paltry 47.3% of census respondents nominating Christianity and 41.9% nominating “no religion at all”, the results speak for themselves.

The demographics are shifting, and showing that older, more religiously inclined generations are being replaced with the least religiously affiliated generation in Australia’s history.

As a rabbi of a large community centre and synagogue in Melbourne, I can attest that these results confirm what I know to be true about millennials. While the community I run has a vibrant youth scene and programs, for people and families at all stages of life, the challenge to convince the new generation to buy seats and memberships at a synagogue is real and persistent. 

While in previous generations, families would not question the need to affiliate to a synagogue or question whether they should attend on high holidays, the new incoming generations do not hold these same values. Rabbis and community leaders have an ongoing challenge: how can one engage the next generation?

While this sounds like a boring question that has been oft repeated by many religious leaders, I think it is important to look deeper and get an understanding of why younger generations no longer feel the need to join synagogues and formal religious communities.