Measuring “Who is a Jew?” and Why It Matters

• In Event: Surveys and Measurement of Religion

Abstract

The importance of one’s identity in shaping public opinion and voter behavior has long been recognized in the scholarly community, but measurement remains a challenge. In this paper, we illustrate the extent and consequences of that problem by focusing on surveys of Jewish Americans. Pre-election surveys in 2020 varied greatly in the magnitude of Jewish support for Biden, which we believe is partially attributable to differences in how surveys screened respondents to ascertain Jewish identity. Most surveys of the national electorate (such as VoteCast) and some surveys of Jews simply screen respondents for their religious affiliation. However, the Pew Survey of American Jews in 2013 that roughly 20% of American Jews (and close to half of Jews in California) do not report any religious affiliation, yet still identify as Jewish. These "Jews of No Religion" are, on balance, younger, much less likely to be Orthodox or Conservative in denomination, and more likely to call themselves "Just Jewish" when given that choice. Ignoring these respondents, as many surveys do, produces an unrepresentative sample of Jewish Americans biased in a Republican direction. Using Pew Surveys and other surveys of Jewish Americans, we will show how different measurements of identity can affect the relationship between identity, vote preference, and issue preferences. We will argue that our ability to understand pluralism, which is the theme of the Annual Meetings, rests in large part on valid measures of identity and appropriate screens to ensure that samples are representative of identity communities.

Authors

• Kenneth D. Wald, University of Florida

• Michael D. Martinez, University of Florida