¹Because of the comparatively small number of RRA members and the possibility of sampling error, care should be taken in drawing inferences from these numbers both here and in the data that follow.

²The total number of respondents, as well as the total number for each category, differs from the sum of CCAR and RRA respondents because four respondents belong to both organizations.

Summary of Rabbinic Center for Research and Counseling 1995 Survey

December 29, 1995 Irwin H. Fishbein, Rabbi, D. Min.

This survey has a threefold purpose: 1) to determine the present position of the Reform and Reconstructionist rabbinate on officiating at intermarriages, 2) to compare data with previous Rabbinic Center surveys and 3) to update the list of rabbis who officiate at intermarriages. A questionnaire with four levels of participation and non_participation in intermarriage ceremonies and eighteen conditions of officiating was sent by first class mail to 1794 rabbinic members of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA). Of this number, 1651 are members of the CCAR and 167 are members of the RRA. Twenty-four rabbis belong to both organizations.

Of the 710 respondents, representing a 40% response rate, 334 or 47% officiate at intermarriages under specified conditions, 274 or 39% do not officiate but are willing to refer to rabbis who do, and 102 or 14% neither officiate nor refer. A comparison of CCAR and RRA respondents indicates that CCAR members officiate more frequently (48% compared to 38%) but that, when categories of officiation and referral are combined, 89% of RRA members refer compared with 86% of CCAR members (see Table 1).

TABLE 1

COMPARISON OF CCAR AND RRA RESPONDENTS 1995
POSITION	CCAR		RRA		CCAR/RRA TOTAL
POSITION	#	%	#	%	#	%
OFFICIATE	318	48	24	38	334	47
REFER	245	37	32	51	274	39
DO NOT REFER	96	15	7	11	102	14
TOTAL RESPONDENTS	659	100	63	100	710[1]	100

Of the 334 rabbis who officiate, 231 or 69% were willing to have their names on the list of C.C.A.R. and R.R.A. Rabbis Who Officiate at Intermarriages, while 103 or 31% requested that their names not be on the list. The list contained 220 rabbis in 1990, 202 in 1986, 178 in 1982, 159 in 1978, 119 in 1973, 78 in 1971 and 61 in 1969. Since 1969 the number of rabbis on the list has more than quadrupled, while the number of Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis has not quite doubled (see Table 2).

TABLE 2

RESPONDENTS WHO OFFICIATE AT INTERMARRIAGES 1982-1995
POSITION	1982		1986		1990		1995		1995		1995
	CCAR		CCAR		CCAR/RRA		CCAR		RRA		CCAR/RRA
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
LIST	178	61	202	73	220	62	221	69	17	71	231	69
NON-LIST	115	39	76	27	135	38	97	31	7	29	103	31
TOTAL OFFICIANTS	293	100	278	100	355	100	318	100	24	100	334¹	100

Of the 710 respondents, 334 or 47% officiate, compared to 44% in 1990 and 50% in 1986 and 1982; 274 or 39% refer, compared to 38% in 1990, 32% in 1986 and 31% in 1982; and 96 or 14% do not refer, compared to 18% in 1990 and 1986 and 19% in 1982. The historical data show that a small but a steady increase in the percentage of rabbis who are willing to refer to other rabbis and a corresponding decrease in the percentage of rabbis who do not refer (see Table 3).

COMPARISON OF CCAR AND RRA RESPONDENTS 1982-1995
POSITION	1982		1986		1990						1995
	CCAR		CCAR		CCAR		RRA		CCAR/RRA		CCAR/RRA
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
OFFICIATE	293	50	278	50	335	46	23	34	355	44	334	47
REFER	180	31	174	32	265	36	34	52	302	38	274	39
DO NOT REFER	109	19	100	18	129	18	8	13	141	18	102	14
TOTAL RESPONDENTS	582	100	552	100	729	100	65	99	798	100	710	100

Compared to the 1990 survey, there has been a 4% decrease in respondents who participate with non_Jewish clergy and a very slight decrease of 1% in those who officiate in churches where Christian symbols are visible. However, two categories have changed significantly. C.C.A.R. respondents who require a commitment to establish a Jewish home and/or raise children as Jews have decreased from 64% in 1990 to 42% in the current survey and those who require the rabbi to be the only officiant have decreased from 62% to 43%. The present survey indicates that, while the percentages in these two categories have declined for Reconstructionist rabbis, the decline has been much more gradual than for Reform rabbis. Reconstructionist rabbis continue to maintain a more traditional stance than their Reform colleagues with respect to these two conditions (see Table 4).

CONDITIONS OF OFFICIATING 1982-1995
SELECTED CONDITIONS	1982	1986	1990		1995
	CCAR	CCAR	CCAR	RRA	CCAR		RRA		CCAR/RRA
	%	%	%	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Commitment to establish Jewish home and/or raise children as Jews	68	67	64	70	133	42	15	63	142	43
Rabbi to be only officiant	62	59	62	70	137	43	16	67	146	44
Participate with non-Jewish clergy	38	31	109	31	86	27	7	29	90	27
Officiate in a church or chapel where Christian symbols are visible	6	9	31	9	26	8	1	4	26	8

The data suggest that the number of rabbis who refer to other rabbis is increasing and that significantly fewer rabbis require, as a condition of officiating, that children be raised as Jews or that the rabbi be the only officiant. This can be understood as the struggle of a more traditionally minded rabbinate to respond empathically to a more acculturated, less committed Jewish laity. Because RRA members characteristically operate from a more traditional base, their officiating less frequently than CCAR members or requiring more frequently a commitment to Judaism as a condition of officiating is understandable. What may be more difficult to understand is that Reconstructionist rabbis are more likely than Reform rabbis to seek out ways of accommo-dating a couple by referral and, consequently, seem to have less difficulty in affirming the validity of those with whom they differ. This may possibly be attributable to the philosophical legacy of Mordecai Kaplan, whose concept of Judaism as a civilization affirmed the validity of different ways of embracing Jewish tradition and whose search for an authentic American Judaism broke down traditional patterns of responding and opened up new areas for dialogue and reaching out.

[1]The total number of respondents, as well as the total number for each position, differs from the sum of CCAR and RRA respondents because the affiliation of three respondents is not known and fourteen respondents belong to both organizations.

The purpose of this survey is twofold: 1) to determine the present position of the Reform and Reconstructionist rabbinate on officiating at intermarriages and to compare data with previous Rabbinic Center surveys and 2) to update the list of rabbis who officiate at intermarriages. A questionnaire with four levels of participation and non_participation in intermarriage ceremonies and 18 conditions of officiating was sent by first class mail to 1691 rabbinic members of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA). Of these, 1554 are members of the CCAR and 152 are members of the RRA. Fifteen rabbis belong to both organizations.

Of the 798 responses, representing a response rate of 47.2%, 355 or 44.5% officiate at intermarriages under specified conditions, 302 or 37.8% do not officiate but are willing to refer to rabbis who do, and 141 or 17.7% neither officiate nor refer. A comparison of RRA and CCAR respondents indicates that RRA members officiate less frequently (34.3% compared to 46.0%) but that a larger percent of RRA respondents (52.2% compared to 36.4%) are willing to refer (see Table 1).

	COMPARISON OF CCAR AND RRA RESPONDENTS 1990
POSITION	CCAR		RRA		TOTAL
	#	%	#	%	#	%
OFFICIATE	335	46.0	23	34.3	355	44.5
REFER	265	36.4	35	52.2	302	37.8
DO NOT REFER	129	17.7	9	13.4	141	17.7
TOTAL RESPONDENTS	729	100.1	65	99.9	798¹	100.0

¹The total number of respondents, as well as the total number for each position, differs from the sum of CCAR and RRA respondents because the affiliation of seven respondents is not known and five respondents belong to both organizations.

Of the 355 rabbis who officiate, 220 or 62.0% (72.7% in 1986) were willing to have their names placed on the list of CCAR and RRA Rabbis Who Officiate at Intermarriages, while 135 or 38.0% (27.3% in 1986) requested that their names not be on the list. The list contained 202 rabbis in 1986, 178 in 1982, 159 in 1978, 119 in 1973, 78 in 1971 and 61 in 1969. Since 1969 the list has increased almost fourfold (see Table 2).

	RESPONDENTS WHO OFFICIATE AT INTERMARRIAGES
	1982		1986		1990		1990		1990
POSITION	CCAR		CCAR		CCAR		RRA		TOTAL
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
LIST	178	60.8	202	72.7	207	61.8	16	69.6	220	62.0
NON-LIST	115	39.2	76	27.3	128	38.2	7	30.4	135	38.0
TOTAL OFFICIANTS	293	100.0	278	100.0	335	100.0	23	100.0	355¹	100.0

Since this is the first time that members of the RRA have been included in the survey, comparisons with previous surveys in Table #3 were made with CCAR respondents only. Of the 729 responses from Reform rabbis, 335 or 46.0% officiate compared to 50.4% in 1986 and 50.3% in 1982; 265 or 36.4% refer compared to 31.5% in 1986 and 30.9% in 1982; and 129 or 17.7% do not refer compared to 18.1% in 1986 and 18.7% in 1982. While the 1986 and 1982 surveys showed no significant categorical change, the current data point to a shift of a little under 5% from the officiating to the referring category, at the same time that the percent of rabbis who neither officiate nor refer has remained constant.

	COMPARISON OF CCAR RESPONDENTS 1982-1990
	1982		1986		1990
POSITION	CCAR		CCAR		CCAR
	#	%	#	%	#	%
OFFICIATE	293	50.3	278	50.4	335	46.0
REFER	180	30.9	174	31.5	265	36.4
DO NOT REFER	109	18.7	100	18.1	129	17.7
TOTAL RESPONDENTS	582	99.9	552	100.0	729	100.1

Compared to the 1986 survey, CCAR respondents who participate with non_Jewish clergy have remained at 31% and those who officiate in churches where Christian symbols are visible at 9%. Those who require the rabbi to be the only officiant with no participation by non_Jewish clergy have increased from 59% to 62%, while those who require a commitment to establish a Jewish home and/or raise children as Jews have decreased from 67% to 64%. The present survey indicates that Reconstructionist rabbis are somewhat more traditional than their Reform colleagues in conditions of officiating and that none officiate in churches where Christian symbols are visible (see Table 4).

	CONDITIONS OF OFFICIATING 1982-1990
	1982	1986	1990		1990		1990
SELECTED CONDITIONS	CCAR	CCAR	CCAR		RRA		TOTAL
	%	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Commitment to establish Jewish home and/or raise children as Jews	68	67	216	64	16	70	232	65
Rabbi to be only officiant	62	59	207	62	16	70	219	62
Participate with non-Jewish clergy	38	31	103	31	5	22	109	31
Officiate in a church or chapel where Christian symbols are visible	6	9	31	9	0	0	31	9

The present survey suggests that the trend toward an increasing percentage of rabbinic participation in intermarriage ceremonies from 1972 to 1982, which was on a holding pattern from 1982 to 1986, may now be reversing itself slightly. While there has been a 4.4% decrease in the percent of CCAR rabbis officiating, there has been no significant change in the conditions under which an intermarriage will be performed. One may speculate that the new data which reflect a significantly higher response rate, may present a more accurate measure of rabbinic practice and that previous surveys may have overestimated the percent of officiants. One may also speculate that the decline in the percent of officiants, even though not confirmed by a more traditional stance in the conditions of officiating, reflects a slightly more conservative bent in the CCAR membership now, as compared to four years ago. More definitive conclusions have to await a detailed analysis of the data, particularly with reference to year of ordination.