For decades, our parents and rabbis have sounded alarm bells about the threat of assimilation, warning that intermarriage and secularization were eroding Jewish identity in America. Once dismissed by some as alarmists, their warnings now echo with painful vindication across emptying synagogues and fractured communities.

A comprehensive study on “religious switching” on the major world religions by Pew Research Center reveals that 24% of adults raised Jewish no longer identify with Judaism. Most have joined the growing ranks of the unaffiliated (17%), while smaller numbers have converted to Christianity (2%) or Islam (1%).

What makes the trend particularly concerning is the stark contrast with Israel, where 100% of respondents maintain their Jewish religious identity. While Israelis do switch between denominations, with over 20% moving between secular, traditional, and Orthodox communities, none ever abandon Judaism entirely.

Not like it makes Jewish parents feel any better, but the exodus from Judaism isn’t happening in isolation, as overall there seems to be a crisis in faith these days. Christians are retaining only 73% of those raised in the faith, while Muslims maintain 77%.

Although signs of Jewish self-identification have remained consistent over time with a 75% retention rate in 2014, in the wake of Hamas’ massacre against Israel on October 7, it’s not easy to be a Jew in the Diaspora now. With Jewish students facing harassment on college campuses everyday, synagogues requiring armed guards, and social media awash with unchecked antisemitism, many community leaders fear the pressures could further drive more Jews away from their roots.