Jewish Population
The worldwide Jewish population is 13.3 million. In 2001, 8.3 million lived outside Israel and 4.9 million in Israel. About half of the world’s Jews reside in the Americas, with about 46% in North America.
In North America, up to 72% of Jews marry non-Jews Inter-marriage rates have risen from roughly 6% in 1950 to approximately 40%–50% in the year 2000. Harris Interactive has conducted a survey indicating that 52% of American Jews do not believe in God. Though inter-marriage and secular upbringing, fewer Jews practice Judaism, as Jews convert to other religions, or abandon religion.
The foremost sociologist of American Jewry, Marshall Sklare, wrote: "Many intermarried parents declare ... that upon maturity their child will have the right to choose his own identity. This generally means that his identity will be with the majority group. Only if the child has formed a particularly strong identification with the parent who is Jewish will he be motivated to integrate into the minority community. The majority of the children of intermarried Jews, then, will be Gentiles. ...".
Today, of the approximately 6 million ethnic Jews in the United States, about 2 out of 3 either do not identify themselves Jewishly or maintain an affiliation with a synagogue. Of 5.6 million Jews, 2 million American Jews live in households identified as non-Jewish. 60% of Jews below 40 years of age live in households identified as non-Jewish. Since 1985, 52% of Jews who married have done so outside the faith. 1 million, or 54%, of all American Jewish children under the age of 18 are being raised as non-Jews or with no religion. In 1962, 540,000 Jewish children were attending afternoon or weekend schools, and 60,000 were enrolled in day schools. By 1990, fewer than 240,000 Jewish children attended afternoon or weekend schools, and 140,000 attended day schools, a net loss of 220,000 Jewish children. Of the population that consists of people who were born Jewish and are Jewish by choice, only 11% attend synagogue weekly.
Read more about this topic: Proselytization And Counter-proselytization Of Jews
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