American Jews are assimilating faster than ever before, and are increasingly identifying with Jewish culture rather than with the religion — if they identify as Jews at all.
That’s according to a major study published Tuesday by the Pew Religion & Public Life Project, which found that one in five American Jews identifies as having “no religion.” Sixty-two percent say Judaism is more about ancestry and culture than religious belief.
These findings also point to the future of American Jewish families. Seventy-nine percent of non-religious Jews have married outside the faith, while only 36 percent of religious Jews have intermarried. And 90 percent of religious Jews plan to raise their children at least partially Jewish, while two-thirds of Jews who say they have “no religion” do not plan to raise their kids Jewish at all.