OPINION: Why American Jews believe more - but feel less Jewish

American Jews talk to God. British Jews talk to each other.

With around six million souls, the Jewish population of the United States accounts for two in every five Jews worldwide. It dwarfs the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, which is 20 times smaller. But when it comes to Jewish identity, size isn’t everything. Despite being more religious on paper, American Jews appear to be far less Jewish than their British counterparts.

Let’s start with belief. Only one in six American Jews say they don’t believe in God. In the UK, it’s a notably higher one in four. But while they might be stronger believers, American-made faith does not automatically translate into meaningful Jewish outcomes. In terms of belonging, American Jews are far less likely than their UK counterparts to be members of a synagogue (64 percent don’t belong compared with 29 percent in the UK). And behaviourally, they are only half as likely as UK Jews to attend synagogue regularly (20 percent vs. 41 percent in the UK).

While American Jews exhibit impressive levels of religious belief, British Jews show far greater levels of belonging and behaviour.

Looking at these differences more closely, we can see that Jewish Americans who attend services are far more likely to say they do so because they “find it spiritually meaningful” (92 percent vs. UK 56 percent). And the top reason American Jews give for not going more often? “I’m not religious.” This is from 67 percent of US Jews compared with 44 percent of UK Jews. But for British Jews, the leading reason for attending isn’t spiritual at all—it’s that they “feel a sense of belonging”. British Jews go to synagogue because that’s where their people are.

This is a fascinating and important point. Jewishness in America has taken on a more “Christian” cast: rooted in faith, prayer, and personal spirituality. In Britain, Jewish engagement is far more likely to be conceived as a more social, cultural, and collective experience.

And yet this American religious piety hasn’t translated into a deeper Jewish identity. On any number of measures, the average American Jew is found wanting. They’re less attached to Israel (58 percent vs. 73 percent), less likely to keep a kosher home (17 percent vs. 40 percent), more likely to intermarry, and far less likely to say that most of their friends are Jewish. Fewer American Jews have attended Jewish schools. Fewer live in Jewish neighbourhoods. Fewer share Jewish life with other Jews.

Why? Perhaps because in America, the individual reigns supreme. Religion is viewed as a private matter, and, for many, it seems it is virtually divorced from being Jewish, at least in the social-communal sense of the word. America is a hyper-personalised society, where being Jewish is just one lifestyle choice among a great many others, and, when viewed this way, it is clearly failing to compete effectively. Moreover, in the UK, Jewish life is more geographically concentrated, socially interconnected, and steeped in shared tradition. For Jewish identity to thrive, it needs all three pillars: not just belief but also belonging and behaviour.

It’s a paradox: more religious belief, and yet less Jewish. While it’s worth noting that 50 percent of UK Jews do say believing in God is important to their Jewish identity, in the end, being Jewish isn’t just about believing; it’s also about belonging—to a people, a story, a community—and behaving in Jewish ways, not because it’s a lifestyle choice but because it is a big part of what Jews do and who Jews are. It seems the Brits may have something rather important to talk to their American cousins about and perhaps even something to teach.

* All data are from D. Graham and J. Boyd (2024) Jews in the UK today: Key findings from the JPR National Jewish Identity Survey, Institute for Jewish Policy Research, London; and Pew (2021) Jewish Americans in 2020, Pew Research Centre.

Dr David Graham is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
Dr Adina Bankier-Karp is Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation at Monash University.