As of 2012, one in 20 Americans self-identified as an atheist, agnostic or unbeliever. According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly 33 million Americans list themselves with no religious affiliation. While the study does not specify how many Jews are among the ranks, doubtless the cultural landscape of Judaism is also affected by these larger trends.
Part of the reason for this shift is the co-opting of what is perceived to be “religious” by the most conservative forces. As definitions of what it means to be a “believer” narrow, people with progressive social values find themselves at increasing distances from a life defined by religion. Although I am a proud and active Jew, I count myself among those who find this definition of religiosity too constrictive.
It seems the pendulum between doubters and believers is swinging farther apart. Believers become more extreme in their views and less tolerant of deviation, while those who are more expansive in their views simply drop out rather than fight for legitimacy.
The question we must ask if we are to give serious consideration to the Jewish future is why are the narrowest definitions winning?
At 83, I’m unusual for my generation in my open doubting. Generally, the younger the age group, the less religious it is. Millennials, specifically those born between 1980 and 1994, the youngest group of adults polled, logged in with 34 percent religiously unaffiliated.
This fits into trends emerging throughout the late 20th century within American Judaism, where intermarriage, lack of affiliation with institutions and general alienation from Jewish life expand amid increasing assimilation.
I refer to this generation as “doubters”: young Jews who question the meaning and worth of a traditional Jewish life. The existence of these doubters, with their hard questions about the relevancy of Judaism to their lives and removal from the community, usually is met with alarmist cries about the existence of the Jewish future.
While I see this fear as unfounded, the information strikes me as a loss on two levels. First, the doubter allows the narrowest definition of what constitutes a religious life to dominate. Second, the young people are self-imposing their own exile from the Jewish people.
While I feel sadness knowing our young people do not always embrace the wealth of their heritage, I also understand. That is not to say I agree. I know what it means, however, to look at the Jewish landscape and feel that the options offer no home. If one needs to see that in action, look at the religious forces in Israel, where the rabbinate has stifling control over a religious life defined by haredi Orthodox definitions. It is a blessing then — of the nonreligious variety — that here in America we live in a society that allows so many avenues of religious expression.
In my youth and young adulthood, there were unifying causes of the Jewish people. We stood together against the Holocaust, for the State of Israel and to free Soviet Jewry. Such a single, uniting principle allowed even those who did not see themselves inside of religion to still feel a place among our people.
In modern times, however, this central cause is lost to us. The threat of anti-Semitism is not as vital as it once was, and the threats to Jewish well-being become more and more theoretical for younger Jews.
So what are the experiences that will guide us to a better Jewish future? The response is threefold: education, positive communal experiences and unifying causes of social justice.
Jews are now secure enough to focus on the betterment of all humanity, not just the Jewish people. Coupled with that is the need for even doubting Jews to educate themselves about their heritage and traditions.
Acknowledging a Judaism that embraces doubt is one way in which we can expand our tent. It is time to be realistic about the future of the religious and cultural heritages of Judaism.
In abandoning the doubters, we are abandoning the hope that the legacy of our meaningful texts, beautiful rituals and unique view of the world will live on — not because we didn’t embrace religion, but because we didn’t embrace doubt.
Edgar M. Bronfman is the president of the Samuel Bronfman Foundation and the former president of the World Jewish Congress.