The Jewish Theological Seminary of America Adult Jewish Learning in America: Current Patterns and Prospects for Growth

_ _ hat is the current extent and nature of Jewish learning in America? What motivations, inhibitions, and Vu social characteristics are associated with Jewish learning? How may JCCs, synagogues and other agencies best address the growing interest in Jewish learning among American Jewish adults? These are the principal questions addressed in this study, one that relies on the first-ever national survey on adult Jewish learning in the United States. Derived from a mail-back survey of 1,302 respondents nation-wide, this study's key findings consist of the following: • American Jews engage in a wide variety of learning activities, including reading books and magazines, attending classes, and going to Jewish museums. • A small number engage in numerous Jewish learning activities; and a large number have never even attended a single lecture or class, as adults. ' • Contrary to several measures of ethnic involvement, younger adult Jews are just as involved in Jewish learning as their elders. • Jewish learning is associated with the following characteristics: higher education; affluence; wider cul-tural involvement; being female; and, not surprisingly, Jewish involvement, observance, and affiliation with a synagogue and/or a JCC