Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version nyu B notes v1.5 12/10/84; site csd2.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!csd2!martillo From: martillo@csd2.UUCP (Joachim Martillo) Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish Subject: Re: % of "non-religious" jews Message-ID: <3780064@csd2.UUCP> Date: Wed, 7-Aug-85 10:03:00 EDT Article-I.D.: csd2.3780064 Posted: Wed Aug 7 10:03:00 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Aug-85 23:21:23 EDT References: <1241@ihuxi.UUCP> Organization: New York University Lines: 32 If one starts with the known immigration of Jews to the USA before 1921 and assumes a conservative repoduction rate, the number of Jews in the USA should be over 18 million. Since only 6 million are willing to admit, Jewish heritage, observant Jews are definitely a tiny minority. `Obadyah Yosef (as well as others) have repeatedly declared that so-called reform and conservative Judaism cannot be considered religions. Considering as non-religious, all those who do not meet the standards of the Sefardi rabbinate, I calculated a few months ago the 98% of Jews in the USA were apostate. *Original Article Follows* /* csd2:net.religion.jewish / megann@ihuxi.UUCP (Meg McRoberts) / 1:55 am Aug 2, 1985 */ > sam@bu-cs.UUCP (Shelli Meyers) writes: > >You have mentioned that there are "non-religious" Jews, who still consider > >themselves Jews. Perhaps this is so, but they are definitely a minority. somewhere i saw the statistic that more than 50% of the people in the united states who consider themselves jewish are affiliated with a synagogue at all -- orthodox, reform, conservative, reconstructionist, anything. granted that "religious" is not synonymous with "affiliated with a synagogue" but given the number of people who are affiliated with a synagogue and seem to be much more secular jews than religious jews, i would hesitate to say that the "non-religious" jews are a clear minority. unless, of course, one considers gastronomic judaism a form of religious judaism. . . [ :-) ]