Synagogues and the Jewish Community

You're in an interfaith relationship and considering joining a synagogue, but you're not sure how you'll be treated. Many in the organized Jewish community welcome interfaith families with open arms, but many do not. Learn about the Jewish community's complicated--and often flawed--approach to intermarriage in InterfaithFamily.com's archive of articles, resources and external links.

Helpful Articles on Synagogues and the Jewish Community

Synagogues and the Jewish Community Articles Archive

• Synagogues and the Jewish Community

Helpful Documents on Synagogues and the Jewish Community and Interfaith Families

• Report: Young Interfaith Couples Find Welcome in the Jewish Community Through InterfaithFamily.com, A Recent Survey Reports
• A Common Aspiration: The Promise of Peoplehood (PDF) by Barry Shrage, Combined Jewish Philanthropies

Discussion Board

• Interfaith Families and the Jewish Community 

Additional Resources

Websites

IFF Network Blog - Our regularly updated blog regularly discusses the debate over intermarriage in the Jewish community.

Visit our partner MyJewishLearning.com for more information on the Jewish community's approach to intermarriage:

• Attitudes Toward Intermarriage
• Overview: Jewish Continuity
• Reaching Out
• Mixed Families, Jewish Choices

Books

• Friedland, Ronnie and Case, Edmund, ed. The Guide to Jewish Interfaith Family Life: An InterfaithFamily.com Handbook. Jewish Lights, 2001. Read a review.
• McClain, Ellen Jaffe. Embracing the Stranger. Basic Books, 1995. This book encourages the Jewish community to reach out to intermarried families.
• Lois Shenker. Welcome to the Family! Opening Doors to the Jewish Experience. White Cloud Press, 2001.

If you know of other resources on synagogues or the Jewish community--or if you'd like to see additional resources on a particular aspect of synagogues or the Jewish community--please email us at network@interfaithfamily.com and let us know what you'd like us to provide.