Judaism - Religious Tradition
Judaism is a monotheistic and ethnic religion that encompasses the religious, cultural, and legal tradition of the Jewish people. For religious Jews, Judaism is the expression of the covenant that God established with Abram, Moses, and other Hebrew prophets. Based on the Hebrew Bible (including the Torah) and the Talmud, Judaism stresses careful observance of the rites and practices given in the Torah. Both Christianity and Islam are identified as Abrahamic traditions tracing their history back to the Jewish religion. There are several Jewish traditions, including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform Judaism, and Reconstructionist.
Maps: Judaism1
Adherence Rate per 1,000 (2020)
Congregations (2020)
Top 5 Judaism States (2020)1 [View all States]
| Rank | State | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | 763,078 | 37.80 |
| 2 | District Of Columbia | 18,980 | 27.50 |
| 3 | New Jersey | 196,617 | 21.20 |
| 4 | Maryland | 77,368 | 12.50 |
| 5 | Connecticut | 38,288 | 10.60 |
Top 5 Judaism Counties (2020)1 [View all counties]
| Rank | County | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rockland County, New York | 64,860 | 191.70 |
| 2 | Kings County, New York | 289,183 | 105.70 |
| 3 | Ocean County, New Jersey | 51,310 | 80.50 |
| 4 | Fairfax city, Virginia | 1,802 | 74.60 |
| 5 | New York County, New York | 103,433 | 61.00 |
Top 5 Judaism Metro Areas (2020)1 [View all Metro Areas]
| Rank | Metro Area | Adherents | Adherence Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vineyard Haven, MA Micro Area | 950 | 46.10 |
| 2 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area | 876,986 | 43.50 |
| 3 | Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY Metro Area | 25,408 | 36.40 |
| 4 | Burlington, IA-IL Micro Area | 1,385 | 30.60 |
| 5 | Pittsfield, MA Metro Area | 2,820 | 21.90 |
Judaism Groups: Adherence Rates (1980 - 2020)1
| Group | Family | Adh. Rate 2020 | Adh. Rate 2010 | Adh. Rate 2000 | Adh. Rate 1990 | Adh. Rate 1980 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chabad Judaism | None/Unknown | |||||
| Conservative Judaism | Judaism | 1.26 | 1.63 | |||
| Independent Judaism | None/Unknown | 0.03 | ||||
| Jewish Congregations | Judaism | 21.82 | 24.05 | 3.57 | ||
| Orthodox Judaism | Judaism | 2.84 | 3.07 | |||
| Reconstructionist Judaism | Judaism | 0.12 | 0.13 | |||
| Reform Judaism | Judaism | 2.00 | 2.48 | |||
Sources
1 The 2020 data were collected by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB) and include data for 372 religious bodies or groups. Of these, the ASARB was able to gather data on congregations and adherents for 217 and on congregations only for 155. [More information on the data sources]
