December 2007

Welcoming Interfaith Families Yields Positive Results
By Karen Kushner

Have you heard about the recent data from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston’s population study? The news is that 60 percent of children in intermarried families in the Boston area are being raised as Jews. In the Bay Area, a recent study by our own Jewish Community Federation indicated that 38 percent of children of intermarried families in the Federation’s geographic area (San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties) are being raised Jewish. In the Jewish world, this is very good news. These successes are because of the wonderful outreach programs available and the welcoming approach of our area synagogues and congregations to interfaith families.

Dr. Bruce Phillips, the demographer who administered and analyzed our local study, has broken down the figures to reflect regional results as well.  We have learned that in San Francisco (like Boston), 60 percent of the children of interfaith couples are being raised as Jews. In the South Peninsula, the figure is 45 percent. In Marin County it is 30 percent, Sonoma County shows 27 percent and the North Peninsula is at 21 percent. Throughout our Federation area, every synagogue and congregation is committed to increasing its welcome to interfaith families to insure the continuity of our Jewish community.

Want help connecting to the Jewish community in your area? Call us and we will be glad to talk about programming at synagogues, congregations and Jewish community centers near you. We can help you think through just what each organization offers and how to select a community to celebrate with and to give and receive support from. 

Project Welcome has created a booklet to help you realize the riches possible in a synagogue or congregation. Finding Your Home in a Synagogue will help you focus on your own needs and desires and clarify how many can be answered by these communities.

You can download this booklet at www.projectwelcome.org. Look for the graphic link of a gift box to take you to the booklet. And while you’re there, check out the other booklets available through the archive. These booklets are our gifts to you. A new one comes out every couple of months so be sure and check back.

Karen Kushner is the director of Project Welcome, a program of the Union for Reform Judaism.  You can reach her at 415.392.7080 ext 18 or kkushner@urj.org.

« Back to Newsletter | Next Article »