East Bay Jewish Community Study - Jewish Federation of the ...

Defining the Jewish Population in the
East Bay
The Jewish population of the East Bay is not very ―Jewish.‖ In other words, only a bare majority
has two Jewish parents and a majority has non-Jewish partners. As a result, only half of the
Jewish residents initially identify as Jewish when asked their religion. Nearly 20 percent initially
identify as Christian, a plurality of whom had or has one Jewish parent. Most East Bay Jews
identify with the Reform tradition or no denomination or sect all; the absence of a
denominational preference is related to intermarriage; most Jews who do not identify with a
tradition are from interfaith families.
Specifically:
• Many Jewish residents in the East Bay do not initially identify with Judaism. Only 49
percent initially identify as Jewish, while another 23 percent do not identify with any
religion.
• Only 54 percent of residents of the East Bay have two Jewish parents, 29 percent have
one Jewish parent, and 17 have no Jewish parents. Among the 18 percent who call
themselves Christian (Protestant, Catholic, or other Christian), 47 percent have only one
Jewish parent.
• More than half of married Jewish residents are in interfaith relationships (61 percent), a
number that rises to 73 percent among younger residents. Non-Jewish spouses are not
particularly religious; 36 percent do not identify with a religious faith at all.
• A plurality (33 percent) identifies with the Reform tradition, but almost as many do not
identify with a Jewish sect or denomination at all (29 percent). Many fewer call
themselves Conservative (15 percent) or Orthodox (3 percent).
• Reform Jews and those who do not identify with a sect are the most likely to be
intermarried; these groups also often have spouses who are not religious.
Demographically, Jews in interfaith families do not look particularly different from
intermarried families, except that they are younger.
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