Published: 22 March 2019
Last updated: 5 March 2024
FOR YEARS, RESEARCHERS have expressed concern that Jewish communities would assimilate and dissipate as religious identification waned. They pointed to intermarriage as an indicator of declining community cohesiveness. For example, they found that in the U.S., half of Jews who are married or in a common law relationship are partnered with non-Jews.
A recent survey reveals that something different is happening in Canada.
A shift from religious identification toward ethnic and cultural identification is taking place. However, the expected assimilation and dissipation of the community is less evident. The intermarriage rate in Canada is less than half that in the United States.
Our family certainly did not follow the path that many researchers anticipated. We got married in 1987. Rhonda converted to Judaism. Our three girls attended full-time Jewish schools. They became fluent in Hebrew to varying degrees. All of them partnered with Jewish men.
While we are both secular in orientation, Rhonda insists that we attend synagogue on occasion. She is the major force behind the organisation of activities and preparation of family meals to celebrate Jewish holidays.
We often wondered how common our story is. As senior sociologists in neighbouring Canadian universities, we decided to find out.
FULL STORY Young, Canadian and Jewish: The shift from religious to cultural identity (The Conversation)
Photo: A holiday meal achieves conviviality in the family and solidarity with the Jewish community, but its religious significance is less important than in the past (Makom/Facebook)
