Migration, Time, and Religioethnic Identification Among U.S. Jews¹

Abstract

This article examines changes between 1985–1990 and 1995–2000 in relationships between migration and religioethnic identification among U.S. Jews. The results of multivariate analyses of the 1990 and 2000 National Jewish Population Surveys show that Jewish background characteristics have lost their significance as determinants of internal migration and, especially, migration across state boundaries. Concurrently, migration no longer constitutes a serious threat to group continuity and erstwhile negative effects on major religious and social behaviors have disappeared. When the two surveys were integrated into one data set, it was found that “time” enhances the inclination of Jews to move and strengthens their religious and ethnic commitments (though not their commitments to informal Jewish networks). The results are discussed in reference to three competing perspectives of migration‐identification relationships—“selectivity,”“disruption,” and “heightening”—and in the wider theoretical context of religious and ethnic processes in the contemporary United States.

Minority Participation and Well-Being in Majority Catholic Nations: What Does it Mean to be a Religious Minority?

“…According to Perl and Olson (2000), religious market share is inversely related to per-member financial giving across five different denominations. Similarly, Rabinowitz et al (1995) find that rates of giving to Jewish community federations are higher in US cities where the Jewish population share is less (see also Rebhun 2011). Others have found similar relationships between religious market share and the ordination rate of Catholic men (Stark 1992;Stark and McCann 1993), the number of subscribers to Catholic Digest (Stark 1998), and the number of lay women and men in leadership positions in the Catholic Church (Stark 1998).…”

Mnemonic Institutions and Residential Clustering: Jewish Residential Patterns in Toronto

“…For example, in London, Newman () showed Jewish movement over the twentieth century was associated with the location of synagogues. More recently, research suggests that Jewish spatial movement can reflect the expansion of Jewish institutions, which helps ensure opportunities for formal affiliation in areas of Jewish settlement (Rebhun ). Tavory's () study of Orthodox Jews in Los Angeles illustrates how “institutional supply” can attract Jewish residents and establish religious neighborhoods.…”