Study shows 76% of people raised as Jews continue to be Jewish as adults

Nationwide, 56% of all Americans still identify with their childhood religion, but Jews cited different reasons than other groups in Pew survey

Some 76 percent of Jews who were brought up as Jewish in the United States continue to identify as Jews in adulthood, one of the highest rates out of any religion, according to a Pew Research survey published Monday.

Nationwide, 56% of all people still identify with their childhood religion, while 35% have abandoned it, according to the survey of 9,000 US adults conducted in May. Another 9% weren’t raised with a religion, and still don’t have one today.

American adults who were raised as Hindu (82%) or Muslim (77%) were the most likely to remain in their childhood religion, the survey found. About 73% of those raised without a religious affiliation have remained unaffiliated as adults, and 70% of people who were raised as Protestants still identify that way today.

Retention rates were much lower among Catholics (57%), Latter-day Saints (54%) and Buddhists (45%), the study found.

Asked why they still identify as Jews, 60% said they like the traditions, and 57% cited liking the sense of community. About half of Jews said they stuck with the religion because it’s their family religion and/or because it’s something they’re familiar with.

That was different from how Catholics or Protestants answered the question. The most common reasons they cited included belief in the religions’ teachings, fulfilling spiritual needs, and giving meaning to their lives. (Jews gave these answers as well, with 45% saying they believe in the religion’s teachings and 42% saying it fulfills spiritual needs and brings meaning to their lives.)

Among Americans who have left their childhood religion, the most commonly cited reasons were that they stopped believing in the religion’s teachings (46%), it wasn’t important in their life (38%), and that they just gradually drifted away (38%). About a third said their religion’s teachings about social and political issues (34%) or scandals involving clergy or religious leaders (32%) were significant reasons for leaving their religion.

Among people who left their childhood religion for another religion, 48% said they felt “called to a new faith,” while (45%) said the religion in which they grew up did not meet their spiritual needs.

Of people switching religions, 46% did so as children or teenagers, while 85% did so by the age of 30, the study found. Just about 3% of US adults who weren’t raised with a religion took one on later in life, the study found.

Of Americans who said they had a mostly positive childhood experience growing up with religion, 84% said they still identify with that religion. In contrast, 69% of those who grew up in a religion and had a negative experience with it no longer identify with any religion at all.

Adults raised in “highly religious households” are more likely to have remained in their childhood religion (82%) than those who grew up in households with medium-high (77%), medium-low (62%) or low levels of religiousness (47%), the survey noted.