Why Are So Many Jews Democrats?: The Perplexing Problem of Jewish Liberalism

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from Batya Ungar-Sargon’s The Jews and the Left. It is reprinted here with permission from Broadside, an imprint of HarperCollins.

The liberalism of American Jews is, after support for Israel, the most dependable of its features. As the sociologist Steven M. Cohen wrote in 1983, “Many American Jews were raised with the understanding that liberalism or political radicalism constituted the very essence of Judaism, that all the rest — the rituals, liturgy, communal organizations — were outdated, vestigial trappings for a religion with a great moral and political message embodied in liberalism. By and large, American Jews are less religious than are Americans more generally. Just 21 percent of American Jews say religion is very important to them, compared to 41 percent of Americans, whereas 53 percent of American Jews say religion is not important to them, compared to 34 percent of all American adults. Just 26 percent of American Jews say they believe in the God of the Bible, compared to 56 percent of American adults. And indeed, when compared to other secular urbanites, American Jews’ attachment to the Democratic Party is less of an outlier.

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About the Author

Batya Ungar-Sargon

Batya Ungar-Sargon is the author of three books and a weekend anchor

and host of Batya! on NewsNation.

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Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from Batya Ungar-Sargon’s The Jews and the Left. It is reprinted here with permission from Broadside, an imprint of HarperCollins.

The liberalism of American Jews is, after support for Israel, the most dependable of its features. As the sociologist Steven M. Cohen wrote in 1983, “Many American Jews were raised with the understanding that liberalism or political radicalism constituted the very essence of Judaism, that all the rest — the rituals, liturgy, communal organizations — were outdated, vestigial trappings for a religion with a great moral and political message embodied in liberalism. By and large, American Jews are less religious than are Americans more generally. Just 21 percent of American Jews say religion is very important to them, compared to 41 percent of Americans, whereas 53 percent of American Jews say religion is not important to them, compared to 34 percent of all American adults. Just 26 percent of American Jews say they believe in the God of the Bible, compared to 56 percent of American adults. And indeed, when compared to other secular urbanites, American Jews’ attachment to the Democratic Party is less of an outlier.