Religious Population Share and Religious Identity Salience: Is Jewish Identity More Important to Jews in Less Jewish Areas?

Alper, Becka A.; Olson, Daniel V. A.

doi:10.1093/socrel/srs044

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…I do, however, draw attention to some patterns in my sample. Given previous research that reveals variation in Jewish identities patterns by a number of different experiential and contextual factors (Horowitz 2000; Alper and Olson 2013), I look into a variety of different factors, such as, reasons for leaving, including whether one left because of an Ordnung violation; current geographic residence near Amish community of origin; shunning status; current denomination; leaving alone or with a family member; and years since leaving. There are some small differences in these factors; however, variation in identity pattern by baptismal status stands out most clearly among my respondents, although this variation still should be interpreted with caution.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, I engage in exploratory work to identify factors that may play a part in shaping individuals’ ethno-religious identities. Since previous research suggests that experiential and contextual factors are related to ethno-religious identities (Horowitz 2000; Alper and Olson 2013), I focus on those relevant to the former Amish case, including age at exit, time since exit, reasons for leaving, baptismal and shunning status, solo exit versus exit with family, current denomination, and current geographic location.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others even describe identities blending elements of Christianity and Judaism (Schwadel 2010). The intensity of Jewish identities appears to vary by experiential and contextual factors, including age, bar/bat mitzvah status, family structure (Horowitz 2000), and local Jewish population share (Alper and Olson 2013).…”

Section: The Jewish Casementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Identity Change Among Ethno-Religious Border Crossers: The Case of the Former Amish

Faulkner

2017

Review of Religious Research

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The present study explores identity among the former Amish. While sociologists of religion have long been interested in religious identity, there has been less attention to religious identities among those who cross religious borders. Much of the literature suggests that individuals abandon former religious identities, including ethno-religious ones, when they join a new religious denomination (e.g., Sandomirsky and Wilson in Soc Forces 68:1211–1229, 1990 ; Sherkat and Wilson in Soc Forces 73:993–1026, 1995 ). While scholarship on the Jewish case challenges this assumption (e.g., Phillips and Kelner in Soc Relig 67:507–524, 2006 ; Sharot in Contemp Jew 18:25–43, 1997 ), research on other religious groups has largely overlooked these insights. This study extend insights from the Jewish case by examining holdover identities among the former Amish and comparing them with the former Ultra-Orthodox Jewish case, making use of Davidman's (Becoming un-orthodox: stories of ex-Hasidic Jews, Oxford University Press, New York, 2014 ) research. Analysis of in-depth interviews with 59 former Amish adults reveals that, while those who have left the Amish no longer define themselves as religiously Amish, they do not abandon their Amish identities entirely. Instead, they reconstruct the meanings of their Amishness in varied ways in their non-Amish contexts. Comparison of these patterns with former Ultra-Orthodox Jews illuminates contextual factors, including the Amish practice of adult baptism and differing normative conceptions of Amish and Jewish identities, that contribute to variation in holdover identities across these cases. Altogether, these results suggest that ethno-religious identities are not mutually exclusive of other denominational identities and support the conceptualization of religious identities as complex, multilayered, and constructed in particular contexts in interaction with existing notions about religious groups.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identity Change Among Ethno-Religious Border Crossers: The Case of the Former Amish

Faulkner

2017

Review of Religious Research

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“…For example, research shows few significant relationships between community context and individual Jewish identity (Hartman and Sheskin 2011, 2012, 2013b. Expressions of Jewish identity as well as its salience have been linked to Jewish population size in a community (Alper and Olson 2013;Blau 1977;Blum 1985;Rabinowitz, Kim, and Lazerwitz 1992;Rabinowitz, Lazerwitz, and Kim 1995;Weissbach 2005), to stability of the Jewish population (Cohen 1983), and to the percent of Jews in a community's population (Horowitz 1999), but in our research (Hartman and Sheskin 2011, 2012, 2013b we have found these linkages to be weak, as are characteristics of the broader religious context (Alper and Olson 2013;Hartman and Sheskin 2013b), and less important than individual characteristics (such as Jewish socialization and background, socioeconomic status, demographic characteristics, and, to some extent, family status). Further, research on American Jews in particular suggests that they carry their Jewish identity within their individual identities rather than as an influence from the wider environment (Cohen and Eisen 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Denominational Variations Across American Jewish Communities

Sheskin

Hartman

2015

Scientific Study of Religion

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“…From their research on small Jewish communities, Alper and Olson (2013) found that "the overall direct effect of population share is negative" on religious identity salience (82). In other words, on average, those Jewish individuals who reside in an area with few Jews will have a more salient Jewish identity than those who reside in larger Jewish communities.…”

Section: Identity Salience In Small Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Generational Transmission of Jewish Values in Small Communities: The Utility and Magic of Thinking Small

Richardson¹

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As with other groups, Jewish identity salience levels are higher within those Jewish communities which have a smaller share of the overall population than those communities which enjoy a larger share; this is true even among those individuals who do not engage regularly in religious practices. Based on this foundation as well as my own mixed-methods research I argue that those who live in small Jewish communities have different patterns of identity development and maintenance, community structure, and -most importantly -generational transmission of values than those who live in the large urban centers. Behaviors such as assimilation and outmigration may also be less likely among those who reside in small Jewish communities. If this is true, it could be that in 100 years' time the non-Orthodox Jewish world will be more accurately and strongly represented by Charleston, WV, Ashland, OR, and Colorado Springs, CO, than Boston, MA, Washington, DC, or Los Angeles, CA. In order to fully understand life in small Jewish communities and the future impact they may have on American Jewry as a whole, I am calling for a nation-wide survey focused specifically on these important yet under-studied communities.This form is to be completed by a student's committee and department to indicate that the student has passed the final defense of their thesis/dissertation, written or oral exams. This form must be scanned and emailed to the Enrolled Student Office by the appropriate

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Religious Population Share and Religious Identity Salience: Is Jewish Identity More Important to Jews in Less Jewish Areas?

Cited by 9 publications

References 38 publications

Identity Change Among Ethno-Religious Border Crossers: The Case of the Former Amish

Identity Change Among Ethno-Religious Border Crossers: The Case of the Former Amish

Denominational Variations Across American Jewish Communities

The Generational Transmission of Jewish Values in Small Communities: The Utility and Magic of Thinking Small

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