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October 26, 2001/Cheshvan 9, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 7
Study finds outreach to intermarried works
JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Outreach efforts to intermarried Jews increase Jewish involvement and synagogue affiliation rates, say sponsors of the most comprehensive evaluation yet of such attempts.
But some skeptics of outreach to intermarried Jews say the study sets too low of a bar in the way it measures Jewish involvement.
The disagreement over the study reflects a broader debate over the efficacy and goals of Jewish outreach.
The new study by the Jewish Outreach Institute looks at 735 participants in 11 outreach programs throughout North America, ranging from groups for intermarried families with small children to a series of Jewish holiday activities in shopping malls.
In addition to concluding that outreach programs increase participants' involvement in Jewish life, the study reports that outreach projects open to all Jews, whether intermarried or not - such as the shopping mall celebrations - tend to be more effective than ones limited to intermarried families.
The study also found that synagogue-based programs are less likely than other venues to attract families with little involvement in Jewish life, and that the lower the participants' previous engagement in Jewish life, the greater the increase in interest they reported.
"This research study makes a compelling case for 'outreach' - the welcoming of intermarried families and uninvolved Jews into the community - as the best way to ensure Jewish continuity in the face of widespread intermarriage and assimilation," the study's executive summary says.
Among the study's findings:
- The percentage of intermarried respondents reporting they are moderately involved in Jewish life rose from 30 percent prior to program contact to 47 percent afterward.
- Thirty-five percent of interfaith families said the program had "some impact" on their Jewish home life, and 19 percent reported it had "considerable impact."
- Thirty-five percent of interfaith families who had not previously belonged to a synagogue joined one after participating in the outreach program, and another 25 percent said they were considering synagogue membership.
- After the program, 60 percent reported sometimes going to synagogue services, compared with 33 percent who said they did so before. Participation at Shabbat dinners increased to 65 percent from 35 percent, and participation in "Jewish cultural activities" increased to 51 percent from 32 percent.
The study is based on mail-in surveys completed in 2000 by participants in programs that took place in 1998 and 1999.
According to the institute, there are approximately 1 million intermarried Jewish households in the United States, and more children now have one Jewish parent than two Jewish parents. In the Valley, considerable effort is being made to welcome interfaith families and make them comfortable in a synagogue.
"It's ultimately important to create a Jewish home for both the (people in) interfaith marriages - you need these programs. Second, you need to make the families feel comfortable when they come to the temple to learn and worship," said Evan DuBro, administrator of Temple Emanuel in Tempe.
Of 505 members, DuBro estimates 20 percent are interfaith families. He reports that the figures are typical of Reform congregations.
"If you look, a lot of Reform synagogues have programs like this," he said. "In Reform Judaism, a major goal is to educate and provide services and programs for the interfaith (congregants). ... We're not out to convert anybody who's not Jewish, but it's very important to have a Jewish home so they can become informed about raising a Jewish family."
Reaction to the study has varied so far, reflecting differing views in the American Jewish community on what the goals of Jewish outreach should be.
For some communal leaders, Jewish outreach is successful if it encourages interfaith families to incorporate some Jewish activities into their lives.
In that camp is Ed Case, publisher of Interfaith Family.com, a Web magazine for intermarried families, who described JOI's findings as "very good news."
"We need to get the word out to more (intermarried families) that these programs exist and that the Jewish community welcomes them," Case said.
At the other end of the spectrum are those who believe programs should spur the non-Jewish spouse to convert, or at least lead to a family commitment to practice only Judaism.
Steven Bayme, director of American Jewish life for the American Jewish Committee, said he welcomed the research but wondered what long-term impact outreach programs have on intermarried families and their children.
Because the JOI study is based only on surveys taken within two years of participation in the Jewish outreach activities, it does not measure the long-term impact of the programs on people's lives.
Bayme also said he hopes that while encouraging outreach, the Jewish community will not become "neutral" to intermarriage, but will continue to create a communal expectation of in-marriage or conversion.
Jack Wertheimer, provost of the Conservative movement's Jewish Theological Seminary, said the JOI study means little to him without information on whether intermarried families are practicing Judaism exclusively.
"There's an assumption that greater involvement is good, but if the family is involved with both religions, how does that benefit the Jewish community?"
Jewish News Special Sections Editor Alisa Berman Sloan contributed to this story.
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