Using data from the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS-1990), supplemented by local community surveys undertaken in the 1980s, authors provide a profile of persons who identify themselves as Conservative Jews in the United States. The chapter delineates their sociodemographic composition, examine some of their religious/ritual behavior and beliefs, and assess the trends in movement into and out of Conservativism.

A demographic study of conservative Judaism in America today.

Conservative Jewry in the United States: A Sociodemographic Profile is the third in a series of publications emanating from the North American Study of Conservative Synagogues and Their Members. The larger study included three freshly commissioned surveys of congregational practices and programs, the behavior and beliefs of members, and the attitudes and practices of recent bar and bat mitzvah celebrants. All three of these surveys were conducted in 1995-1996. In addition, two ethnographers each study a pair of Conservative synagogues to learn more about the cultures of congregations. From the Foreward by Jack Wertheimer.

With the State of Israel and Orthodox and reform Jewry.

Illustrates how the American Conservative Movement in Judaism can continue to prosper amidst ideological and institutional challenges.

Addressing provocative questions on synagogue participation and modern values, eight contributors discuss the findings of the North American Study of Conservative Synagogues and Their Members, 1995-96, within the landscape of American religion. The study is based on new research and a reanalysis of the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey. Wertheimer teaches American Jewish history at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Part I of each volume will feature 5-7 major review chapters, including 2-3 long chapters reviewing topics of major concern to the American Jewish community written by top experts on each topic, review chapters on "National Affairs" and "Jewish Communal Affairs" and articles on the Jewish population of the United States and the World Jewish Population. Future major review chapters will include such topics as Jewish Education in America, American Jewish Philanthropy, Israel/Diaspora Relations, American Jewish Demography, American Jewish History, LGBT Issues in American Jewry, American Jews and National Elections, Orthodox Judaism in the US, Conservative Judaism in the US, Reform Judaism in the US, Jewish Involvement in the Labor Movement, Perspectives in American Jewish Sociology, Recent Trends in American Judaism, Impact of Feminism on American Jewish Life, American Jewish Museums, Anti-Semitism in America, and Inter-Religious Dialogue in America. Part II-V of each volume will continue the tradition of listing Jewish Federations, national Jewish organizations, Jewish periodicals, and obituaries. But to this list are added lists of Jewish Community Centers, Jewish Camps, Jewish Museums, Holocaust Museums, and Jewish honorees (both those honored through awards by Jewish organizations and by receiving honors, such as Presidential Medals of Freedom and Academy Awards, from the secular world). We expand the Year Book tradition of bringing academic research to the Jewish communal world by adding lists of academic journals, articles in academic journals on Jewish topics, Jewish websites, and books on American and Canadian Jews. Finally, we add a list of major events in the North American Jewish Community.