Religious Education and Community Involvement among Jewish Adolescents

Religious Education is one way to increase and maintain community involvement among teenagers. In many Jewish communities across the United States, participation in religious activities and religious youth movements have decreased. As research in this area is limited, this study sets out to identify the curricula that are more effective in building a Jewish identity for adolescents. The results suggest that: (1) The community would like teenagers to feel more connected to their Jewish identity; (2) A training program that combines content of leadership, Judaism, and Israel-related issues is desired; and (3) Women are ambivalent with regard to their children practicing Judaism or the extent of their religious practice.