The Decline of Conservative Judaism |
Fifteen Joseph Pew, erstwhile the CEO of
Sun Oil, left in his will a large sum of money to be used for social research.
This endowment resulted in research concerning religion in America, including
Judaism. In 1990, Pew Research reported that 43% of American Jews were
affiliated with Conservative congregations. Yet, in 2021 only fifteen
percent of Jews were still members of a Conservative congregation even as
membership was declining further. Pew Research did not explain this
precipitous decline. Therefore it is reasonable to do so here. Conservative Judaism was founded
in America with a view of maintaining Jewish traditions within its American
environment. Therefore, Conservative Judaism and synagogues (Greek for assembly)
differed from the usual expectations regarding fundamental beliefs and practices
only in that women and men sat together at religious services. Other than that,
tradition was maintained. Now, however, much of what was
once Conservative Judaism has been discarded by Conservative congregations wo
are competing with Reform in several
ways. Most egregious is the elevation of
deviant sexuality into a major Jewish holy day. This
despite the admonition in the Torah, “If a man lies with a man
as with a woman it is an abomination.” Now that Conservatives marry men
to men and women to women, numerous former members have left the conservative
denomination. Some left because they joined the Reform movement, as Reform is
much more authentic reformed than the conservative imitators. Others now attend
Orthodox services because they seek real Judaism and not a simulated “reconstructionism.”
Those who have now joined the Orthodox need not live an Orthodox life. However,
they want real substance and not remote imitations of authentic Judaism. Another reason for the dramatic
decline of Conservative Judaism is the failure of Jewish education within the
conservative movement. That so called education enrolls children in afternoon
schools meeting between four and six p.m. Children enrolled in these schools
have already spent the hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in school and cannot absorb
even more restraints and classroom discipline. Exhausted, they learn nothing
except to resent their long and ever longer school day. Afternoon schools are a
failure. The only successful Jewish schools are day schools, which conservative
parents, with some exceptions, are unwilling to use for their children. Most
conservatives view day schools as “too Jewish.”
There is yet another, somewhat
hidden condition which has reduced the membership in Conservative Jewish
congregations. That condition is best understood if we look at
the book De Natura Deorum by
the Latin writer Cicero. He explains that Religio
is derived from Res Legare or
“The Thing that Binds.” Cicero holds that people who associate frequently
for mutual prayer and other functions of religion become friends and close
associates. It is this lack of friendly
relationships within the Conservative movement which is probably most
responsible for its decline. Conservative Jews are seldom in attendance at
Saturday services. Most attend only three days a year to celebrate the New Year
and Yom Kippur. Obviously, it is hardly possible to feel bound together with
people only in attendance three days a year. In fact, most Conservative Jews do
not know one another because they see each other so seldom. Furthermore
Conservatives, unlike the Orthodox, do not welcome newcomers or Jews they do not
know. While the Orthodox are eager to welcome anyone attending any of their
events, Conservatives do not talk to outsiders, nor do they invite unknown
persons to conversation or to a kiddush. Conservatives talk only to those with
whom they went to grade school or who is important to their business or who may
vote for them. Other newcomers are ignored. This behavior insures that
Conservative congregations must decline, as few people would be willing to sit
alone without any sign of recognition from 9 a.m. to noon without being given
“the time of day.” Anyone who has visited an Orthodox congregation will know
that the Orthodox welcome all who come. They talk to newcomers, invite them to
kiddush, call them to the Torah, and let them know that they are glad to see a
new face. The exact opposite is true of Conservatives (with a few exceptions, of
course). In 1920, the German sociologist
Michaelis wrote an essay called “The Iron Law of Oligarchy” (Das Eiserne
Gesetz der Oligarchie) [Oligarchy is Greek . It means rule of the few]. Here
Michaelis describes how many voluntary organizations are used by a few
politicians to enhance their status by holding numerous offices, needed or not.
Those who belong are therefore most happy about their status, while all others
are given no role and are excluded. This is particularly true of poor Jews, who
are admitted by the Orthodox but shunned by Conservative and Reform
congregations. The Latin writer Lucretius
wrote a book De Rerum Natura (On the
Nature of Things) in which he wrote Tantum
religio potuit suadere malorum. That was true then, that is true now, and
that sunk Conservative Judaism. Finally, it is evident that our
high intermarriage rate is reducing membership in the Conservative movement for
two reasons. Members who married a non-Jew generally join the Reform movement
because Reform has a long history of accepting non-Jews. There are also
Conservatives who feel uncomfortable with the widespread, 74% intermarriage rate
within Conservative congregations. These Jews join orthodox congregations.
Consequently intermarriage hits the Conservatives twice and threatens to reduce
the membership even further. Shalom
u’vracha. Dr. Gerhard Falk is the author of numerous publications, including The American Jewish Community in the 20th and 21st Century (2021). |