"Jewish Adolescent Study" from Institute for Informal Jewish Education

Youth Director, February 2002

A major piece of research on Jewish American teenagers just landed on my desk and I would like to share some of it with you. The research was undertaken by the Institute for Informal Jewish Education in partnership with the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. This study is the most extensive and in-depth empirical investigation of Jewish teens in North America and reveals a far more accurate picture than what we have had to date of how Jewish youth view themselves, their world and their Jewish interests. To see the report in full (60+ pages), you can log on to www.brandeis.edu/ije

There are very little systematic data on the lives of contemporary Jewish adolescents and the present study was designed to fill this gap. Nearly 1300 B’nai Mitzvah ages 13-17 were surveyed as well as at least one of their parents. Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and independent congregations from three regions of Eastern Massachusetts were surveyed. For purposes of comparison, an over-sample of Jewish day school students was included and to ensure the validity of findings, a high response rate from the teens was obtained.

The findings of the study showed how embedded Jewish teens are in their American context, and how they lead complex lives as they navigate between childhood and adulthood. Specific findings included:

  1. There is a definite decline in participation in Jewish activities from the time of becoming a B’nai Mitzvah through the high school years. Whereas nearly all the teen respondents participated in some Jewish educational, volunteer, or recreational activity in the 7th grade, just over half did in the 12th grade.
  2. Secular education dominates the daily lives of teens by monopolizing their time, concentrating numerous activities under one roof, and creating a community where it is important to suceed and gain recognition. An interesting insight was that those respondents with the highest academic aspirations also tended to be those for whom being Jewish mattered a great deal.
  3. The respondents’ positive attitudes toward their secular education did not carry over to their Jewish education. Boys were found reject their Jewish education and continued involvement in Jewish life more decisively than did girls.
  4. The impact of the Israel programs and experiences on participants’ religious opinions and their connection to Judaism depended greatly on parental Jewish committment. Girls were more interested in Israel experience programs and were more likely to report that their connection to Judaism was enhanced by such trips.
  5. With the exception of day school students, Jewish teens had more ethnically heterogeneous social networks than their parents.
  6. Nearly 2/3 of the teens thought it was important to raise their children as Jews, a value they shared with their parents. However, only 1/3 of them thought it was “extremely” or “very” important to marry a Jew, as compared with 60% of their parents.
  7. Rates of sexual activity, alcohol and marijuana usage were similar to those for comparable national samples of teenagers. Jewish committments appeared to have little influence on sexual activity and alcohol and drug useage.
  8. As expected in this developmental stage, 3/4 of the teenage respondents were preoccupied with a search for meaning in life. Among these, only 40% thought it was important to find that meaning through their Jewishness. For these teens, being Jewish was about remembering the Holocaust, countering anti-semitism, being ethical, practicing tikkun olam, caring about Israel or feeling a connection to other Jews. On the other hand, they did not think it was important to implement their committment to peoplehood, survival, or ethics through Jewish philanthrophy, volunteering for Jewish organizations, or observing Jewish law. These patterns were consistent for both boys and girls.

In conclusion, the adolescents who responded to this survey cared about being Jewish and about Jewish history and culture, but did not express this allegiance by engaging in practices that might set them apart from a largely secular, pluralistic culture in which they are trying to “make it.” Judaism is important to them, but only if it coexists or coheres with their aspirations for academic success, financial stability and social belonging. Like their non-Jewish peers, whom they greatly resemble, they are creatures of their time and place.

B’Shalom,

Eva Sarelle