Synagogue attendance up; ‘core Jews’ declining

NEW YORK — The number of American Jewish households that affiliate with a Jewish congregation has increased by 15 percent since 1990, even as the “core Jewish” population declines, reports a new demographic survey.

According to the American Jewish Identity Survey 2001, which was conducted by the Center for Jewish Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 1 million households affiliate with a congregation; this is up from 880,000 households a decade ago.

Another 1 million Jews report they are affiliated with a noncongregational organization, such as a Jewish community center. At the same time, the number of people — “core Jews” — who consider themselves Jewish by parentage or upbringing but do not practice Judaism has declined from 5.5 million to 5.3 million people.