What Can Be Learned from Health-Related Tensions and Disparities in Ultra-Orthodox Jewish Families?

Chagit Peles, Mary Rudolf, Michael Weingarten, Miriam Ethel Bentwich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Promoting healthy lifestyle from early childhood is a key objective in public health, yet health behaviors are often culturally driven, especially in closed-religious communities. This study aims to reveal key cultural-religious aspects of attitudes and behaviors regarding lifestyle in one such closed community—the ultra-orthodox Jewish community. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 participants: religious leaders, educational figures, psycho-medical professionals from two major ultra-orthodox communities in Israel. A thematic analysis was used to reveal key themes in the interviews. We found tensions between conflicting themes in the parenting, nutrition and physical activity domains, while the sleep domain illustrated cultural solution for a tension. By illuminating the perceptional components of lifestyle, the study contributes to better foundations of health promotion in closed-religious communities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1133-1145
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Religion and Health
Volume57
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • Lifestyle
  • Perceptions
  • Religious communities
  • Ultra-orthodox Jews

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