Pew’s “Statistical Narrative” of Orthodox Separateness: Limitations and Alternatives

The distinctiveness and detachment of the Orthodox from the rest of American Jewry that is reflected in the Pew data on beliefs and behaviors and its accompanying analysis is the focus of this chapter. Based on this information alone, one may conclude that the very concept of defining American Jewry as one people is anachronistic. However, equally compelling data emerging from qualitative studies indicate a trend among the Haredi Orthodox toward abandoning their former rejection of contact with non-Orthodox Jews and concentrating, rather, on advancing vehicles for rapprochement and cooperation.