And the most popular religion in the US is…
Harvard professor finds Judaism tops the list; American attitudes toward Jews ‘better than ever.’
Back to the surprising findings regarding Jews. What has brought about the surprising popularity of this historically persecuted people who, even in America, had it rough when they began arriving en masse in the late 19th century?
“There was a lot of anti-Semitism in America during the 1930s and 1940s,” he explained. “We know this from surveys from the time. It was not as high as Europe but a high level of anti-Semitism in America. If you look at the trend data year by year by the same measure that the Gallop poll has been doing, for 70 years now there was a very, very sharp drop in expressed anti-Semitism in 1946.
“So the next generation were less anti-Semitic and the process continued. So all the anti-Semitic stereotypes in America, the Shylocks and Christ-killers, all that kind of stuff disappeared from public culture and then private culture,” he said.
Putnam offers a piece of anecdotal evidence to illustrate just how positively Jews are allegedly viewed in the US at the moment. According to the professor, people signing up for dating websites who say they are Jewish are more sought after than others.
Two words to explain. Inter. Marriage.
Next step, for Judaism to become popular among Jews. ;-)