Demographic and Religious Dimensions of Jewish Identification in the US and Israel: Millennials in Generational Perspective

The mutual relationship between demography and religion is explored in this chapter through a comparison of the two largest Jewish populations worldwide: the US and Israel. Special attention is devoted to the younger adult population – the Millennials – operationalized here as ages 18 to 29, and divided into three age sub-groups. Data come from the Pew surveys of Jewish Americans in 2013 and of Israelis in 2015. After reviewing the main demographic differences between the two Jewish populations, the chapter focuses on the multiple possible meanings and contents of Jewishness. It explores age-related differences regarding indicators of contemporary Jewish identity: religiosity, peoplehood and nationalism. Jewish Millennials in Israel and in the US, especially those 18–21 years old, are more likely than their elders to view their Jewishness mainly as a matter of religion rather than as a culture or ethnicity. Emerging similarities and differentials between Jews in the US and in Israel are interpreted in the light of general theories of demographic change and religious identification. Such differences are related to specific events and developments that have affected Jews in the two countries, as well as their mutual relationships.