How many LGBT Jews are there?

This page was prepared by Gregg Drinkwater in partnership between Keshet and the San Francisco based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.

• At least 7% of American Jews (just under 500,000) identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). We have very limited quantitative data on transgender Jews.
• 31% of LGB respondents to a large 2007 national Jewish survey were partnered or married.
• Interfaith relationships are the norm. The same survey found only 11% of LGB Jews partnered with other Jews (roughly one third of those LGB Jews who reported being partnered). [1]

National comparisons of Jewish engagement

TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT	LGB JEWS	HETEROSEXUAL JEWS
Synagogue members	16%	39%
Federation donors	16%	37%
Volunteer for Jewish orgs	10%	27%
Most friends are Jewish	6%	35%

Synagogues and LGBT Jews

• 73% of rabbis think they already do a good or excellent job welcoming lesbian and gay (LG) people, but only 33% report any specific programs or events about LG topics or targeting LG congregants. In interviews, LG Jews note that they look for such programs as signals of inclusion.
• 52% of Reconstructionist, 40% of Reform and 22% of Conservative congregations report having openly lesbian and gay congregants.
• 47% of rabbis say that their views on LG issues have become more favorable compared to a decade ago — the bulk of the rest felt their views had already been positive and had not changed.
• 36% of rabbis noted that they know little about transgender people, issues and needs. [2]

The continuum of inclusion: A typology for categorizing Jewish institutions

• WELCOMING AND/OR INCLUSIVE: “We are you.” – LGBT Jews are visible and recognized as members and leaders, and are affirmed as LGBT Jews. LGBT couples and families are celebrated;
• TOLERANT: Assertion that the institution is “welcoming of everyone” and treats everyone the same. Resistant to affirming or highlighting LGBT people and/or pro-actively talking about how LGBT people’s communal, pastoral or spiritual needs may differ from heterosexual counterparts;
• INVISIBLE: “We don’t have that issue here.” – Agency leaders feel LGBT inclusion is not relevant;
• UNWELCOMING: “We don’t want LGBT people.”

 

Many Jewish institutions and leaders think they are more inclusive than LGBT constituents and members report them to be. [3]

 

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[1] “Gay, Jewish, or Both? Sexual Orientation and Jewish Engagement,” Journal of Jewish Communal Service, Vol. 84, No. ½, Winter/Spring 2009, Profs. Steven M. Cohen, Caryn Aviv and Ari Y. Kelman

[2] Welcoming Synagogues Project: Results from the 2009 Synagogue Survey on Diversity and LGBT Inclusion, The Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation at Hebrew Union College-JIR and Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, Dr. Caryn Aviv, Dr. Steven M. Cohen, Dr. Judith Veinstein

[3] We Are You: An Exploration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Colorado’s Jewish Community, Dr. Caryn Aviv, Gregg Drinkwater and Dr. David Shneer, Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, 2006 (NOTE: Jewish Mosaic and Keshet merged in July, 2010)