Trends, Coherence and Contradictions in Intermarriage

This chapter, based on original processing of 1990 NJPS and 2020 Pew data, examines the evolution over time and internal composition of Jewish intermarriages in the US since the 1970s. Issues of demography and identification among US Jews stand at the crossroads of at least two different complementary research perspectives. The first, directly focuses on the observed trends among American Jews and is concerned with description and interpretation of these trends and their possible implications for the longer-term continuity and viability of the American Jewish community. The second, more theoretical perspective, considers Jews in the US as a case study which may contribute to a broader effort to conceptualize the definition, meaning and significance of religious and other types of socio-cultural groups in contemporary societies. The materials presented in this chapter mostly, but not only, relate to the first of these two approaches. Substantial disagreements exist about the demographic and cultural determinants and consequences of intermarriage. The analysis presented here helps to expand the debate beyond family formation, to the deeper meanings of Jewish identity, its boundaries, and its transformation over time.