How Jewish Americans answer the question “What is the most important Jewish holiday to you personally?” varies considerably depending on the generation of the respondent. More specifically, according to a poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute older Jewish Americans (age 60+) and younger Jewish Americans (ages 18-29) answered the question quite differently.
Older
- Yom Kippur – 53%
- Passover – 24%
- Rosh Hashanah – 9%, which tied with other – 9%
- Hanukah – 6%
Younger
- Yom Kippur – 37%
- Passover – 21%
- Hanukah – 20%
- Rosh Hashanah – 11%, which tied with other – 11%
So What?
The two biggest differences by generation are Yom Kippur (53% among older, 37% among younger) and Hanukah (6% among older, 20% among younger). For any holiday to decline in importance from roughly 1 in 2 naming it as most important to just 1 in 3 or for any holiday to increase in importance from roughly 1 in 15 to 1 in 5 within the span of a few generations is quite significant.
- Which of the two generational changes do you find more surprising? Why?
- What do you think are some of the key reasons for these shifts?