OPINION: Belonging without believing: British Jewish identity and God
Only a third of Jews living in the UK have faith in God, as described in the Bible, yet those who do not still make up more than half of paid-up synagogue memberships, according to data from the JPR National Jewish Identity Survey
The late Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was a committed Arsenal fan. In 1990, he and George Carey, then Archbishop of Canterbury and also an Arsenal supporter, attended a match together. It didn’t go well. Together, they witnessed their team lose 6-2 to Manchester United.
The following day, a reporter impudently suggested that if the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Rabbi between them cannot bring about a win for Arsenal, surely that proves that God does not exist conclusively? But in what has become a famous retort, Rabbi Sacks replied that, on the contrary, it proves God does exist, “it’s just that He supports Manchester United.”
The existence of God is, of course, an age-old philosophical question which I am happy to leave to the clerics and philosophers. According to the great medieval Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, one of the central tenets of Judaism is belief in God, for, as he argues, without God, how can there be a moral compass? However, the issue of belief in God is of great interest to social scientists, and data help us understand more precisely how it relates to the strength of one’s Jewish identity and community attachment.
To this end, in our recent National Jewish Identity Survey, JPR asked 4,900 Jewish respondents to choose between three statements: ‘I believe in God as described in the Bible’; ‘I do not believe in God as described in the Bible, but I do believe there is some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe’; and ‘I do not believe there is any higher power or spiritual force in the universe’.
The results show that only one in three Jews believe in God, as described in the Bible.
Where does that leave Judaism? Is it inevitably on the same downward path as Christianity is in the UK?
Not necessarily.
A key indicator of the decline of organised religion in Britain is ‘bums-on-pews’ – i.e. that only people who believe in God are likely to attend church. Even if that is true, it doesn’t seem to apply to Jews. According to the data, two out of three Jews who don’t believe in the God of the Bible attend synagogue, at least on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Moreover, even among paid-up synagogue members, more than half (56%) do not believe in God, and nearly two in five Jewish atheists belong to a synagogue. Jews, it seems, are pretty comfortable belonging without believing.
So why do the Jewish godless bother? To begin answering this question, we presented the JPR panel members with a statement: ‘Belief in God is not central to being a good Jew’? and we asked them if they agreed or disagreed.
The results go some way towards explaining why Jews might belong without believing. A substantial seven out of ten Jews said that, in their opinion, belief in God is not central to being a good Jew. Jews who do not believe in God – the majority – believe it’s entirely consistent to be a good Jew without believing in God. Even among Jews who do believe in the God of the Bible, almost two in five say it is not central to being a good Jew.
It is difficult to imagine the same response pattern occurring among Christian respondents. The reason for that is simple: For Christians, belief in God is a fundamental aspect of Christianity, and while one could argue that is also the case for Judaism, especially when it is constructed in terms of faith, the reality is that for Jews, Judaism – the religion – is just one part of the identity system to which Jewish people adhere.
To be Jewish is to have a multi-dimensional identity incorporating traits such as culture and ethnicity, neither of which is God-dependent. While there may be numerous traits Jews say are important to being a ‘good Jew’ – such as giving to charity, upholding strong moral and ethical behaviour, marrying another Jew, or volunteering – believing in God, as described in the Bible, is not one of them.
- Dr David Graham, senior fellow researcher, Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR)
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
