The golden jubilee of the first national Jewish population survey: A critical assessment of the demographic study of American Jews, 1970-2020

2020/1 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the first U.S. National Jewish Population Study (NJPS). This survey intended to overcome the abstention from inquiring into matters of creed in the decennial census and governmental surveys that is anchored in the separation of church and state in the American constitution. It set the practice of having a national Jewish study every few years. Thus, the second NJPS took place two decades later, in 1990, the third in 2000/1, the fourth in 2013, and the fifth and most recent to date in 2020 (the two later initiated and sponsored by Pew Center). This paper begins with unpacking methodological aspects of the five national Jewish population surveys of sampling, definition of group belonging, and questionnaire. It then traces the demographic salience of Jews in the U.S. comparing them to the general population and non-Hispanic whites; I focus on three dimensions of size, geographic dispersion, and educational attainments. The last part is a critical assessment of population projections conducted over the time under investigation along an attempt to provide some explanations for the gaps between expected and actual estimates of the size of U.S. Jewry. The Discussion offers some recommendations for future quantitative research on American Jews.