he percentage of younger American Jews identifying as Orthodox is on the rise. Additionally, non-Orthodox Jews, ages 18 to 39, who marry Jews and have children are highly likely to be Jewishly engaged. These are some of the conclusions of a pioneering American Jewish Committee study, which paints a complex portrait of the 1.5 million younger Jews, ages 18 to 39, who comprise 29 percent of the U.S. Jewish population and likely will reshape the characteristics of the American Jewish community.
“Understanding the Jewish community of tomorrow is imperative if present-day Jewish organizations are to remain relevant,” said Ambassador Alfred Moses, Chair of AJC’s Centennial Committee.
[…] “Young Jewish adults are likely to be somewhat less Jewishly identified than older American Jews,” said Jack Ukeles, president of Ukeles Associates. “But much more striking is the extent to which younger Jews are expressing their Jewishness in ways that are quite different from the ways of connecting of their predecessors, and thus are less involved with Jewish institutions that are part of the traditional communal structure.”

Read the full press release here.