THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, January 26, 1919
Study 'Urges Outreach Programs to Halt Intermarriage
▪
•
-
.
•
l..
Oik
NEW YORK — The spi-
raling rate of intermarriage
between Jews and non-Jews
in the United States could
seriously diminish the
American Jewish - commu-
nity, according to a report
released by the American
Jewish Committee. The re ,
port urged Jewish families
. and communal groups to
combat this trend by de-
veloping a variety of new
and meaningful outreach
programs to intemarried
couples.
Titled "Intermarriage
and the Jewish Future," the
publication _presented the
results of a three-year study
of the dynamics of inter-
marriage and of the rela-
tionships of intermarried
men and women to Jews and
Judaism. Respondents • in-
cluded 446 intermarried
couples in Cleveland, Dal-
las, Long Island, Los
Angeles, New York,
Philadelphia, San Fran-
cisco and Westchester
County.
A major thrust of the
report's recom-
mendations to alleviate
the threat of assimilation
through intermarriage
was to concentrate on
converting the non-
Jewish spouse, and to
welcome him or her into
the Jewish community
whether or not conver-
sion actually took place.
Specific suggestions in-
cluded:
• Develop formal and in-
formal programs of out-
reach to the intermarried.
positive
• Provide
Jewish experiences and in-
creased exposure that
might -lead to greater in-
volvement.
• Focus on Jewish educa-
tion, to enable both Jewish-
and non-Jewish spouses to
learn- more about Jewish
religious and cultural tradi-
tion, and to help them make
their family life and the
education of their children
.consistently and deeply
Jewish-oriented.
Yehuda Rosenman of the
AJCommittee Community
Affairs Department ex-
plained that the emphasis of
the three-year-study — the
effect of intermarriage on
the continuity of the Jewish
people — reflected a deep
concern :within the Jewish
community. He pointed out
that the rate of intermar-
riage had risen from "well
below 10 percent in the first
six decades of this century
to 17.4 percent in the period
1961-65, and 31.7 percent in
the five years 1966-72."
This trend, combined
with the experience of the
Nazi Holocaust, which
destroyed one-third of
the Jewish people, and
the current low birthrate
among Jewish couples,
has raised questions as to
whether the American
Jewish community can
maintain its present via-
bility, he said. He cited
the predictions of some
experts that a century
from now the Jewish
population in the United
,States will have dwin-
dled, depending_ on var-
ious trends, from its cur-
rent figure of close to six
million to somewhere be-
tween 10,000 and 950,000
persons.
Rosenman stressed the
fact that the Jewish fear of
assimilation stemmed "not
from negative attitudes,
such as prejudice or in-
tolerance of non-Jews, but
rather from the positive de-
sire to maintain the specific
Jewish values that have
enabled the Jewish people'
to make a unique contribu-
tion to the general society."
The research by D. Egon
Mayer of Brooklyn College
was conducted by means of
detailed questionnaires and
in-depth interviews on five
questions:
• "Does intermarriage
lead to a diminishing iden-
tification with Judaism and
the Jewish community on
the part of the Jewish
spouse?"
• "Does it promote con-
flict between marriage
partners?"
• "Does it cause aliena-
tion between the Jewish
spouse and his or her par-
ents, siblings, extended
family?"
• How do non-Jewish
spotthes feel about the in-
troduction of Jewish con-
tent into their family life
and about efforts to provide
Jewish acculturation for
their children?"
• "What is the effect on
Jewish commitment where
the born-gentile spouse has
converted to Judaism?"
The respondents were
questioned on a_ wide-
ranging series of sub-
jects, including their de-
nominational back-
grounds and the inten-
siveness of their religious
training and education;
their parents' attitudes
toward friendship, dat-
ing and marriage be-
tween Jews and gentiles;
the extent to which differ-
ing religious background
engendered conflict con-
cerning such subjects as
the couple's lifestyle,
child-rearing, relation-
ships with parents and
extended families; the
couple's religious iden-
tification and their in-
volvement with
synagogue or Jewish
organizational life; the
extent of Jewish prac-,
tices or ritual obser-
vances in the home; and
religious education of the
children.
Fully half the research
questions dealt with the
way a couple's lifestyle
changes if and when the
born-gentile partner con-
verted to Judaism. More
than 21 percent of the
born-gentile respondents in
the sample had converted to
Judaism by the time of the
study.
In comparing and con-
trasting different types of
marriage involving Jews,
the study employed three
terms: conversionary mar-
riage, for one in which the
born-gentile partner con-
verted to. Judaism; mixed
marriage, for one in which
conversion did not take
place; and endogamous
marriage, for one in which
both partners were Jewish.
Dr. Mayer, in presenting
a summary of his findings at
a news conference, declared
that "the data clearly indi-
cate that, mixed marriage
will by and large lead to as-
similation."
"Mixed marriages are
less Jewish -on every
score than endogamous
marriages," he said, and
added, "Children of most
mixed marriages are
raised without any reli-
gious or cultural identity,
and most parents in
mixed marriages, both
Jewish and non-Jewish,
also lack a cleat religious
identity."
On the other hand, he
stated, "conversionary mar-
riages scored highest in
every aspect of Jewish atti-
tudes and Jewish behavior,
particularly with regard to
affiliation with a
synagogue, religious prac-
tice and providing Jewish
education for the children."
"In some ways," he main-
tained, "there is more rea-
son for optimism about
Jewish continuity in
families where the born-
gentile spouse has 'con-
verted to Judaism than
there is in 'the typical
endogamous family."
-
The degree of Jewishness
that is introduced and
maintained in an intermar-
ried family is directly re-
lated to the extent of Jewish
background, knowledge,
and experience of the
Jewish partner, he said.
"Those who had a positive
and consistent Jewish ex-
perience in their ,parents'
homes indicated a greater
degree of Jewish identify
and commitment, and ac-
counted for the greatest
number of conversions of
their non-Jewish spouses to
Judaims," he stated.
"Lack of Jewish iden-
tity and practices in in-
termarried families is not
due primarily to pres-
sures from non-Jewish
spouses, most - of whom
do not have a significant
identity with the religion
of their birth."
Dr. Mayer • cautioned,
however, that despite this
lack of religious identifica-
tion, the , non-Jewish
spouses "may not necessar-
ily be open to conversion to
Judaism for a variety of rea-
sons — lack of religious feel-
ing, lack of pressure to con-
vert, reticence on the part of
WASHINGTON (JTA) — firmative action, one cannot the Jewish spouse, among
Rabbi-Bernard Rosensweig, dismiss these fears as il- others."
Dr. Mayer placed a large
president of the, Rabbinical legitimate."
an- degree of responsibility on
Rosensweig
Council of. America, told
several hundred delegates nounced the appoint- the Jewish partners in in-
Orthodox Leader Fears
Effects of ERA - on Jewry
at a special Torah conven-
tion in Washington that
"the present form of the
Equal Rights Amendment
(ERA) represents a poten-
tial danger to the entire
religious community of the
United States."
Judaism,
Orthodox
Rosensweig stated, does not
"support any form of dis-
criminatory practice
against women. We simply
have reasonable fears that
the ERA Amendment may
open up a Pandora's box of
unforeseeable discrimina-
tion against the religious
practices and principles of
major segments of our
society."
One of the fears, he said,
is that many religious
schools "which resist the
integration of sexes may be
liable to lose their tax-
exempt status and other-
governmental grants. Con-
sidering recent rulings of
various governmental
agencies in the areas of af-
ment of a blue ribbon
panel headed by Rabbis
Sol Roth and Gilbert
Klaperman with in-
structions to study the
problein in all its ramifi-
cations and to submit
recommendations to the
Rabbinical Council's na
tional convention in
June:
It was learned, mean-
while, that a delegation
from the council will meet
with Congressmen in Wash-
ington to pi-opose amend-
ments to 'protect the reli-
gious rights of women and
to maintain religious
schools in their present
form.
Bias Is Banned
VIENNA (JTA) — The
Austrian Court has con-
firmed a ban of an issue of
the right wing "National
Zeitung" which included an
article entitled "The 20th
Century Fraud: The End of
the Six-Million Lie."
termarried couples, who, he
said, "have an ambivalent
and unclear sense of their
Jewishness."
"They are lacking in
Jewish knowledge and
skills, and therefore are
often incapable of transmit-
ting Jewishness to their
children," he declared.
In regard to the interper-
sonal relationships of daily
life, Dr. Mayer reported
that, according to his sur-
vey, differences in religious
backgrounds did not seem to
contribute to misun-
derstandings or conflict
situations in he home, nor -
did relationships with par-
ents and in-laws seem to be
exacerbated by intermar-
riage.
The Finest
Musical
Entertainment
ERIC
-ROSENOW
AND HIS
continentals •
398-3664
COMPLETE ALTERATIONS
Reasonable Prices
HERBERT
Cleaners & Tailors
[pat Drapery Clealieg
Knits & Sweaters
Suede & Leather
Cleaning
,
GET OUR LOWEST PRICES
24109- Coolidge at 10 Mile
Across from Dexter Davison
•
399-0336
I
CLASS of "63"
SCHULZE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Reunion
Fellow Classmates
Contact us at:
548-0909
547-3139
THE "NEW" OLD FASHIONED-JEWELRY SHOPPE
20%
OFF EVERYTHING
* FREE Jewelry Cleaning
* -FREE Clasps on Repairing Chains
* - FREE Battery Test and Change
,
Ear Piercing Clinic Saturday Coming Soon
Gold, Diamonds (any size), Watches, Charm Holders, Jewel Boxes
43 Years of Wyandotte Experience Now Comes to Lathrop Village •
Samelsons Jewelers
26730 Southfield Rd., south of 11 Mile
Lathrup Village • 557-9306
Hours: Daily 10-6,
1 I I I 1
MUM
Thursday and Friday 10-9
Thursday Lunch and Learning Begins February 1 at the
Midrasha - College of Jewish Studies
21550 West. Twelve Mile Rd.
Southfield, Mich.
10:00-11:00 -
10:00-12:00 -
Elementary Hebrew Reading M. Nobel
Room 18
Hebrew Conversation
---/
Beginners
D. Pe leg
Library
Hebrew Conversation -
Advanced Beg.
S. Friedman Library
Hebrew Conversation -
Intermediate
N. Lev
Board Room
Judaism and Psychology
R. ,Wagner Room 19
Why Be Moral?
G. Teller
Room
Lunch $1 5°
Confrontations in Jewish
History
Weine
Room 18
Pirke Avot
J. Stern.
Board Room
Jewish Worship - A Pedagogic
Approach
R. Wagner Room 19
Library
Religion and State
C. Rosenzveig
_
11:00-12:00 -
12:00 -
12:45-1:45 -
25
For 'a complete schedule of evening and daytime Midrasha courses
Please Call: 354-1050 or 352-7117
;
.r