Abstract
Differences of opinion regarding the numerical size of US Jewry are discussed in this article, with special reference to the 2020 Pew survey of Jewish Americans. Issues discussed involve understanding the theoretical assumptions, technical requirements, and accumulated body of knowledge of Jewish demography and population studies as a discipline; the different methods and biases of Jewish social survey research; the variety of possible Jewish population definitions in a world which is no more dichotomous; the essential role children's Jewish socialization in Jewish population estimates; the independence vs. circularity of existing Jewish population estimates. It is argued that different possible estimates can coexist side-by-side, provided assumptions, methods and definitions are fully transparent and amenable to clear common denominators. The study of US Jews cannot be severed from the study of Jews globally.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 229-249 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Contemporary Jewry |
Volume | 43 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023, The Author(s).
Keywords
- 2020 Pew Jewish survey
- Jewish children
- Jewish definitions
- Jewish demography
- Jewish research methods
- US Jewish population