Dear Friends:
Did you know that Montgomery County is the most religiously diverse county in the United States?
I recently came across an interesting article from the Religion News Service which examines the Public Religion Research Institute’s 2023 Census of American Religion. Perhaps not surprisingly, the largest group in the County is the “religiously unaffiliated” (AKA “Nones”) who are 17.8 percent of the population. The largest actual religious group is Black Protestants at 10 percent. We Jews are not far behind at 9.3 percent of the population, the fourth highest concentration of Jews in the United States. Overall, Christians -- who are subdivided into many different groups -- are about 60 percent of the County population.
Another measure of our County’s diversity is the fact that only 56.8 percent of our residents speak English at home.
I was somewhat surprised to find that Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists each make up only about 3 percent of the County’s population.
Perhaps the most significant finding nationally is that whereas White Christians were 57 percent of the US population in 2006, they make up only 41 percent of the population currently. The non-white population and the population of “Nones” are both growing rapidly. This may explain a lot of the current social unrest in our country as it is rapidly changing and not everyone is happy about it.
A word of caution in approaching this date: while PRRI is considered a very reliable source, gathering accurate demographic data about religion in the United States is notoriously difficult. Unlike data about race, language, education, or economics, these figures are not obtained from the US Census or other government sources since the government is forbidden from asking questions about religious affiliation. Additionally, members of religious minority groups may be wary of disclosing their affiliation to a survey taker, fearful of what use may be made of the information. This is in addition to the general difficulty of doing surveys when fewer and fewer people have landlines (although pollers are now using cell numbers as well) and many if not most people do not answer calls from unfamiliar numbers.
We send our condolences to Marcie and Jeff Lerner on the passing of Marcie’s mother Shirley Miller. There will be a shiva gathering at Kehilat Shalom starting at 7:15 pm tomorrow, with minyan at 7:45.
As a reminder, I am having drop-in hours on Thursday afternoons from 2 to 4 at the shul. For my drop-in hours, you do not need to make an appointment -- that would negate the whole point of drop-in hours -- but I’d urge you to check and make sure I am there regardless as sometimes there are unavoidable pastoral or other emergencies which might take me away from the building.
As always, if I can do anything for you or you need to talk, please contact me at rabbi@kehilatshalom.org or 301-977-0768 rather than through the synagogue office. I am happy to meet you at the synagogue by appointment; if you want to speak with me it’s best to make an appointment rather than assuming I will be there when you stop by.
Additionally, if you know of a Kehilat Shalom congregant or another member of our Jewish community who could use a phone call, please let me know.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Charles L. Arian
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