Belonging to or affiliating with a Jewish synagogue or worship community remains a central way that New York Jews connect to Jewish life. This report examines the various contours of synagogue membership among New York Jews and finds that participation in services varies widely, but both synagogue membership and attendance are higher in New York than nationally. For the majority of those who affiliate with a congregation, they find that participating in their congregation connects them tradition, history, and spirituality.
| NY 8-County Jewish Adults | U.S. Jewish Adults1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Never | 38% | 28% |
| Less than monthly | 34% | 51% |
| Once or twice a month | 5% | 9% |
| At least once a week | 22% | 12% |
| Total | 100% | 100% |
Attending Jewish prayer services at least a few times a year is a widely shared feature of Jewish life for most Jewish adults in the eight-county area. More than 60% of Jewish adults in the eight-county New York area attend prayer services at least once during the year and 27% attend at least monthly.
The share of Jewish adults who attend services is greater at both the most and least frequent ends of the spectrum compared with Jewish adults nationally. For example, 22% of Jewish adults in the eight-county area attend services at least once a week compared with 12% of Jewish adults nationally.
| Orthodox | Conservative | Reform | Nondemoninational/Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 2% | 16% | 32% | 67% |
| A few times a year | 5% | 40% | 48% | 27% |
| Every few months | 4% | 16% | 10% | 2% |
| Once or twice a month | 7% | 13% | 7% | 2% |
| At least once a week | 82% | 16% | 3% | 2% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Frequency of attending prayer services is significantly associated with denomination. Among the Orthodox, attendance is nearly universal: 89% of Orthodox adults attend at least monthly and 82% attend at least once a week. Conservative Jewish adults participate in services at the second highest rate, with 29% attending services at least monthly, followed by Reform Jewish adults, of whom 10% attend at least monthly. Less than 5% of nondenominational or other denomination Jewish adults attend services at least monthly.
| 18–29 | 30–49 | 50–64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 49% | 51% | 44% | 51% |
| A few times a year | 34% | 36% | 34% | 33% |
| Every few months | 6% | 7% | 11% | 5% |
| Once or twice a month | 3% | 5% | 6% | 5% |
| At least once a week | 8% | 2% | 5% | 7% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Among the non-Orthodox, prayer service attendance does not substantially vary by age. About half of non-Orthodox Jewish adults never attend synagogue across all age groups, and about 7–12% attend at least monthly.
| 2020 US | 2023 NY | |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 36% | 41% |
| No | 64% | 59% |
| Total | 100% | 100% |
In 2023, 41% of Jewish adults in the eight-county area were synagogue members or lived with someone who was a member of a synagogue.2 This is slightly higher than the national estimate of 36%.
| Orthodox | Conservative | Reform | Nondemoninational/Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | 96% | 61% | 35% | 10% |
| No | 4% | 39% | 65% | 90% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
As with prayer service attendance, synagogue membership significantly varies by denominational identity. Nearly all Orthodox Jewish adults in the eight-county area report that they are a synagogue member or live with someone who is a member. However, for Reform and Conservative Jews, their denominational identity does not necessarily correspond with their synagogue affiliation. Only 35% of Jewish adults who identify as Reform Jews are or live with members of a synagogue, while 61% of Conservative Jewish adults are members or live with members of a synagogue. Only 10% of nondenominational or other denomination Jewish adults live in households with synagogue members.
| 18–29 | 30–49 | 50–64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never | 24% | 21% | 31% | 27% |
| A few times a year | 76% | 79% | 69% | 73% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Among the non-Orthodox, 26% of Jewish adults are members of a synagogue or live with a synagogue member. Rates of synagogue membership are similar across age groups among the non-Orthodox, although non-Orthodox Jewish adults who are 50 and over belong to synagogue member households at higher rates than those under 50.
About one in four non-Orthodox Jewish adults aged 18-29 is a synagogue member or lives with someone who is a synagogue member
| Household Denomination | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synagogue Denomination | Orthodox | Conservative | Reform | Nondemoninational/Other |
| Orthodox | 99% | 16% | 2% | 20% |
| Conservative | 0% | 78% | 4% | 23% |
| Reform | 0% | 3% | 90% | 28% |
| Reconstructionist | 0% | 0% | 2% | 8% |
| No denomination | 0% | 0% | 0% | 11% |
| Something else | 1% | 3% | 2% | 10% |
| Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Among Jewish households in New York, synagogue denomination does not always match the denomination of members in the household. While nearly all Orthodox adults attend Orthodox synagogues, a notable percentage of Conservative adults (16%) also attend Orthodox congregations. Additionally, while most Reform Jewish adults attend Reform synagogues, 10% report that the synagogue or Jewish congregation they attend is not Reform.
Among those who identify as nondenominational/other, the largest proportion attend Reform congregations, while similar shares attend Conservative or Orthodox synagogues. And a fifth of Jewish adults with other or no denominational affiliation who are members or regular participants of a Jewish congregation report that congregation to be of no denomination or something else.
| 2020 US | 2023 NY | |
|---|---|---|
| Not interested | 61% | 70% |
| Haven't found services that appeal | NA | 18% |
| Can't afford to join a synagogue3 | 18% | 8% |
| Other | NA | 5% |
In 2023, Jewish adults who never attend Jewish prayer services most frequently indicated (70%) that they do not attend because they are not interested in services. A somewhat smaller proportion of Jewish adults nationally (61%) do not attend services because they report they are not interested in them. One in five Jewish adults in the eight-county area notes that they do not attend because they haven’t found services that appeal to them. About 8% of Jewish adults in the eight-county area cite cost as a barrier to attending prayer services, compared with 18% of Jewish adults nationally.
The prevalence of these barriers to attendance is similar among demographic groups, but one group that is particularly likely to report not attending because services lack appeal to them are LGBTQ Jewish adults, who are twice as likely to cite this reason as non-LGBTQ Jewish adults.
Other reasons cited for not attending include lack of time (3% of those who never attend), and health and mobility issues or disability (2%). Among Orthodox and Conservative Jewish adults who never attend prayer services, these factors are particularly salient, with half of this group over the age of 65 and a quarter with a disability.
| Conservative | Reform | Nondenominational/Other | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not interested | 39% | 51% | 76% |
| Haven't found services that appeal | 24% | 18% | 16% |
| Can't afford to join a synagogue | 15% | 18% | 5% |
| Other | 5% | 9% | 4% |
Among non-Orthodox Jewish adults who never attend services, being uninterested in prayer services is the most frequently cited reason for not attending across denominations. Non-denominational or other denomination Jewish adults most frequently report not attending because they are not interested, at 76%, compared with 51% of Reform Jewish adults and 39% of Conservative Jewish adults.
Conservative and Reform Jewish adults cite cost as a barrier to service attendance at similar rates, but non-denominational and other denomination Jewish adults less frequently report that they do not attend services due to costs associated with joining a synagogue.
The proportion of Jewish adults who do not attend services because they haven’t found services that appeal to them does not vary significantly by denomination.
| 18–29 | 30–49 | 50–64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not interested | 83% | 73% | 66% | 64% |
| Haven't found services that appeal | 25% | 18% | 18% | 13% |
| Can't afford to join a synagogue | 7% | 8% | 11% | 5% |
| Other | 2% | 8% | 5% | 5% |
In 2023, the vast majority (83%) of young Jewish adults aged 18–29 do not attend services because they are not interested in them; however, a quarter of young Jewish adults in this age group report not attending, at least in part, because they haven’t found any services that appeal to them. Jewish adults aged 65+ less frequently cite not having found services that appeal to them as a reason for not attending. Across all age groups, there are not significant differences in the rates of reporting cost as a barrier to attending services.
| 2023 NY | |
|---|---|
| To feel connected to tradition and history | 79% |
| For spiritual fulfillment | 71% |
| To fulfill a religious obligation | 68% |
| To allow the children in my household to participate* | 62% |
| To see friends or to socialize | 58% |
| For counseling and/or support | 19% |
| Some other reason | 1% |
Jewish adults in the eight-county area who are members of or participate in a Jewish congregation most frequently report participating to feel connected to tradition and history (79%), for spiritual fulfillment (71%), and to fulfill a religious obligation (68%). Nearly 60% also report participating to see friends or to socialize. Jewish adults less frequently (20%) report participating in a congregation for counseling and/or support. Among Jewish adults with children in the home, 62% report participating to allow the children in the household a means to participate in congregational life.
| Orthodox | Conservative | Reform | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To feel connected to tradition and history | 73% | 92% | 84% | 79% |
| For spiritual fulfillment | 83% | 66% | 52% | 43% |
| To fulfill a religious obligation | 88% | 54% | 35% | 36% |
| To allow the children in my household to participate | 58% | 72% | 78% | 68% |
| To see friends or to socialize | 64% | 59% | 45% | 43% |
| For counseling and/or support | 27% | 9% | 12% | 7% |
| Some other reason | 1% | 1% | 1% | 5% |
The reasons Jewish adults report that they are members of or participate in a congregation vary significantly by denomination. Orthodox adults most frequently report participating to fulfill a religious obligation (88%), while Conservative, Reform, and non-denominational/other denomination Jewish adults most commonly cite feeling connected to tradition and history as a reason for participating.
Over a quarter of Orthodox adults report participating in their congregation for counseling and/or support, which is significantly higher than Conservative, Reform, and non-denominational or other denomination Jewish adults. Participating for spiritual fulfillment is also cited more often by Orthodox adults, followed by Conservative, Reform, and non-denominational or other denomination Jewish adults.
Among Jewish adults with children in their household, Orthodox adults are the group that least frequently reports attending so that their children can participate in a synagogue or congregation.
| 18–29 | 30–49 | 50–64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To feel connected to tradition and history | 79% | 81% | 89% | 91% |
| For spiritual fulfillment | 64% | 51% | 64% | 49% |
| To fulfill a religious obligation | 57% | 52% | 38% | 36% |
| To see friends or to socialize | 64% | 57% | 45% | 45% |
| For counseling and/or support | 6% | 11% | 10% | 11% |
| Some other reason | 6% | 0% | 1% | 2% |
In general, the reasons Jewish adults cite for being members of or participating in a congregation do not vary significantly in every age bracket, but in several cases a gap can be seen between older and younger Jewish adults. Jewish adults who are 50 and over are less likely to attend to socialize with friends, more likely to attend to feel connected to tradition and history, and less likely to report attending to fulfill a religious obligation compared with adults under 50.