August 2021
Carmel U. Chiswick (George Washington University)
Abstract: American Judaism is viewed from an economic perspective. Non-traditional family units and non-traditional religious practices are now persistent features of American Jewry. Incentives affecting the education, family formation and consumption patterns of American Jews are shown to have implications for patterns of Jewish observance and for the American Jewish community. Comparing US religious pluralism with Israel’s state-sponsored Rabbinate suggests stresses as well as complementarities between the two largest Jewish communities, including a rise in anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism. Forecasting the future of American Judaism is based on trends in economic conditions and changes in religious institutions affecting its cultural context.
JEL Codes: Z12, J19, D10
Key Words: economics, demography, religion, Judaism, pluralism, consumption, value of time, cost of Judaism, Israel, anti-Semitism
