2008 Woodie Awards
Commentator Religion Survey Suggests Diverse Student Body
Data Reflects On Jewish Studies Programs
Zev Nagel and Dovid Wildman
Issue date: 5/16/05 Section: News
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The majority of the questions were modeled after a 1987 "Torah u-Madda" survey conducted by Dr. Chaim Waxman, professor of sociology at Rutgers University, which polled male and female students of Yeshiva University (then only Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women). Additional questions were added by Commentator pollsters relating to the role of public policy and religion, rabbinic infallibility, and the Jewish media. The online database, designed by Eli Hamburger, systems administrator for The Commentator and an avid student leader, identified students according to their student ID numbers and then catalogued the answers according to their undergraduate college enrollment, YC or SSSB, and Jewish studies program. The entire process was anonymous.
The Method
In order to create a broad enough sample, the survey was open to all undergraduate men on the Wilf Campus. At the time of the survey, 1161 students were registered in Yeshiva undergraduate programs--63 percent in YC and 37 percent in SSSB--of which 46 percent were enrolled in MYP, 26 percent in IBC, 18 percent in BMP, and 10 percent in JSS. Though there were 453 respondents, 34 were not Yeshiva undergraduates and were therefore excluded from the final data. Of the 419 qualified respondents, 75 percent came from YC and 25 percent from SSSB; broken down according to their Jewish studies enrollment, 60 percent came from MYP, 17 percent from BMP, 20 percent from IBC, and 3 percent from JSS. Thus, the survey did not precisely represent the student body, though it did maintain the hierarchical proportions of student enrollment. The data was not cropped to create a representative sample, as it would diminish the number of respondents in smaller categories - such as the thirteen JSS students who participated in the survey - creating a greater degree of unreliability.
To better identify the respondents, the survey asked for students' own religious affiliation as well as that of their parents, and their previous Jewish education, years of study in post-high school yeshiva, college major, and age. 82 percent of the respondents spent at least one year in Israel, with only a slightly higher percentage coming from American yeshivot over Israeli ones. The close to the fifth of survey respondents who did not study in Israel at all - of which 10 percent were enrolled in MYP - could also have spent time in a post-high school yeshiva in America though, as the survey did not have such an answer option. Additionally, the already known student volunteered information (information linked to the bar codes), such as Jewish studies program, undergraduate enrollment, and class standing, corroborated with the databases.
After completing their personal information, students were posed a series of fifty statements which they were asked to rank their level of agreement or disagreement; each question had only one answer: strongly agree, mildly agree, mildly disagree, or strongly disagree.
Based on the data provided below, general observations can be made as to the modernist or traditionalist character of the students responding to the survey. A traditionalist stance suggests a degree of insularity and particularism, as well as in some cases a division between secular and religious areas. A modernist stance, however, would indicate the opposite, open-mindedness, universalism, and a more fluid division between strictly secular and religious influences and teachings. Accordingly, in order to assess the modernist-traditionalist standing of an answer, assumptions need to be made about the very question itself, as well as the supposed answer for each community. A summary of findings appears below, as well as tables of the raw data collected.
The Data
Religious Life in the Modern World
The survey revealed that almost all students have experienced tensions between religion and modern society - a quarter of them admitting to frequent tensions. To deal with these tensions, students were equally likely to turn to a Yeshiva University friend as they were to resolve the issues themselves, the two most popular choices. Turning to Yeshiva University rabbi was ranked third, though it was also the most likely option for JSS students. In general, however, IBC students were most likely to experience these tensions, JSS the least likely, and BMP students were most likely to continue with the conflicts unresolved. Slightly more MYP respondents said they either "rarely" or "never" experienced tensions, than those who admitted to "sometimes" or "frequently" experienced such tensions.
The respondents expressed an overwhelming interest to eventually live in Jewish neighborhoods - close to half in an area that is three-quarters to entirely Jewish. Only about ten percent of respondents did not care about the Jewish composition of their communities. MYP students were most enthusiastic about living in predominantly Jewish communities, with 80 percent wishing to live in communities at least half Jewish. JSS respondents echoed a similar sentiment at 70 percent, while the same response was only 50 percent in BMP and around 45 percent in IBC. Still, the vast majority of students in all programs desired communities with populations at least a quarter Jewish.
Close to two thirds of respondents wanted to "live and work" in a "totally Orthodox Jewish environment." Most students valued relations with non-observant Jews and non-Jews: three out of four strongly disagreed with the statement "Observant Jews should avoid relations with non-observant Jews," with another twenty percent mildly disagreeing. No JSS students agreed with the statement. JSS students also unanimously agreed that friendship with all Jews is a mitzvah, compared to only 65 percent among MYP students. JSS students also continued to lead the way in what appears to be generally modernist tendencies in this category, with all disagreeing with the statement "Ideally, one should not have any contact with non-Jews." Overall, close to 90 percent of all students disagreed as well, though MYP student enthusiasm for contact with non-Jews trailed that of the other Jewish studies programs. Most respondents still disagreed with having contact with non-Jews when it would require them to make religious concessions. Lastly, student support for friendly relations with non-observant Jews was far more compelling than that for contact with non-Jews.
Secular Studies
Not surprisingly, the respondents expressed a general regard for the value of secular studies. Only 8 percent strongly felt that "Ideally, a Jew should study Torah only, without any secular studies," with a slightly stronger agreement from SSSB and MYP students than those enrolled in other programs. At least two-thirds of students strongly disagreed: 85 percent of IBC and JSS, three-quarters of BMP, and about half of MYP. When asked if "Secular study is permissible only insofar as it is important for one's livelihood" the percentages of those that strongly agreed changed only slightly, but the number of students strongly disagreeing dropped about 10 percent across the board, 20 percent for IBC and JSS. The drop accounted for a rise in students expressing either a mild agreement or a mild disagreement, though, again, most students exhibited a strong affinity for secular studies beyond their relevance to vocation. Interestingly, a little under half of students polled strongly believing that "It is a Jewish value to learn as much as one can, including secular study." An additional 30 percent mildly agreed. More YC students strongly agreed with the statement than SSSB students, and, in increasing order of strong agreement: MYP, BMP, IBC, and JSS. The same trend was evident from answers to the statement "All spheres of knowledge are intrinsically important for the observant Jew," though strong support for that idea dropped 10 percent overall. Concluding the section, students were asked to defend or contend the statement "Modern life makes Orthodox Judaism untenable." 85 percent of the respondents disagreed in some form.
The Role of Women
The survey also featured a number of questions relating to the role of women in Judaism and their studying Torah. The overwhelming majority of respondents -- about four in five students -- disagreed strongly with the statement "Women should not study Torah." Students in BMP and IBC strongly disagreed the most, while perhaps surprisingly, only about two-thirds of those in JSS felt the same way. Overall, less than two percent of students strongly agreed with the statement.
Yet as the statements became more specific, such as "Woman may study Tanakh, but not Talmud," the number of students in disagreement dropped; less than half of respondents strongly disagreed with limiting women's Torah study, and an additional 30 percent still mildly disagreed (overall, the percentage in disagreement remained high). YC students were more likely to stand in disagreement than SSSB students, and the now familiar pattern in Jewish Studies programs held in this case too: JSS, IBC, BMP, and MYP students were likely to disagree in decreasing order. The pattern held true for the statement "Women can learn the same Torah material as men," as well. JSS students were most likely to agree, MYP students least likely. However, in all programs, a majority of students did agree with the statement, though only in JSS and IBC did at least half the students strongly agree. Nevertheless, a notable two-thirds of Yeshiva students felt that women and men are on equal footing when it comes to the accessibility of Torah material.
Respondents, however, felt the role of women within the Jewish community had to stay within certain boundaries. Two-thirds of students opposed the idea of women being "ordained as public religious figures so long as they do not carry the title "rabbi." Admittedly this question contained a number of flaws as it utilized the word "ordained" - generally a term closely relating to rabbis - and answers in disagreement could reflect opposite poles of the spectrum, either that women should be rabbis or that women should have no public roles. Yet almost half of BMP (and just a bit less of IBC) did favor the statement notion, while only a quarter of MYP and JSS students favored it. Students thought women should be allowed to pursue "leadership positions within the Jewish community such as being directors of Jewish organizations," with at least seventy percent in favor. Only ten percent of students thought "Women should not seek careers outside the home" at all; of those ten percent, less than three percent felt strongly that way. Student opinion did not change much when presented with the statement "Women may have employment outside of the home, but only in the traditionally-female occupations." Once again, less than three percent strongly agreed.
Public Policy
New to this year's survey were questions on the intersection between public policy and religion. Yeshiva students overwhelmingly demonstrated a change in attitude towards the relationship between religion and public policy in the United States and in Israel. While 47 percent -- a third of those in the strongly category -- agreed that religious belief should be considered when deciding American public policy, more than 90 percent -- two-thirds of those strongly -- agreed that Israeli public policy should take religion into account. However, in response to a slightly differently phrased statement -- "The State of Israel should be legislated according to halakha" -- just 75 percent agreed, 45 percent of those strongly. The Jewish studies pattern too resurfaced here: JSS and IBC students had the highest disagreement rating, MYP the lowest. 90 percent of respondents also felt "The State of Israel has intrinsic religious significance"; the percentages of disagreement, though marginal, were highest among BMP and SSSB students. Finally, 85 percent of students polled agreed that the "State of Israel is part of Messianic redemption." Of those, half strongly agreed while the other half only mildly concurred; BMP and IBC students had the highest disagreement ranking, at twenty percent.
Other public policy questions addressed homosexual marriage and abortion. Half of the respondents strongly disagreed with "Under American law, homosexuals should have the same marriage rights as heterosexuals." Only about a fifth strongly agreed with the statement, the highest proportions hailing from BMP and IBC.JSS was the only Jewish Studies program in which a majority of students supported gay marriage in some form, though IBC came in at a close second. More than half of MYP and BMP students also strongly disagreed with that sentiment. Seemingly, we believe, the percentages reflect a median that is not surprising for an institution with an overwhelming body of religious students.
With regards to abortion, the percentages seemed to reflect the greater American spectrum as well. Almost as many students were in strong agreement as strong disagreement when it came to prohibiting abortion; similarly, it was a statistical dead heat between those who mildly agreed and those who mildly disagreed with the statement. The breakdowns according to Jewish studies division mirrored the total percentages, though IBC and JSS were a bit more modernist on the issue than BMP and MYP. Similarly, YC students tended to support abortion rights just a little more than their counterparts in SSSB. Students seemed to favor a more modernist stance when it came to abortion being legalized for "dire circumstances such as rape and when the birthing mother is placed in grave danger," with two out of three students more or less in support. Percentages according to Jewish studies divisions also seemed to rise in favor of legalizing abortion in such circumstances, with only IBC students below the average percentage of support.
Cheating
Though we defer to the survey being conducted by Dr. Rettinger for exact details on the scope of cheating at Yeshiva University, The Commentator's survey did find strong disapproval of the practice from the student body. Over 90 percent of respondents agreed that "Cheating on exams and papers is a violation of Jewish values and cannot be condoned," three-quarters of them strongly. Significantly, YC students strongly agreed with the statement at a rate twelve percent higher than their peers at SSSB; that rate was also highest in MYP, which beat out IBC and JSS by 23 percentage points. This dichotomy continued for the statement "Cheating on exams and papers is wrong in principle, but it has become so common and so vital for good grades that it should not be judged harshly." This rational predominantly affected the responses of SSSB students, only half of who strongly disagreed with the statement versus YC's 75 percent. The same split occurred between MYP and IBC students: 75 percent of the former strongly disagreed while only half the latter felt the same way. YC and MYP students were also least likely to cheat on exams or papers.
Interesting Side Points
A little more than half of students surveyed disagreed with "The media should be allowed to print news informing the public of improprieties committed by rabbis or any public figure, even if it falls under the category of lashon hora." A fifth of students strongly agreed with that statement and another quarter mildly agreed. However, the biggest split could be found between MYP and the other three Jewish Studies programs: except for MYP students, more than half of all students in the other programs agreed with the statement, and the percentages were as high as 70 percent in the cases of BMP and JSS.
Although 419 recognized undergraduate students participated in the survey, most questions had a range of 405 to 416 respondents. Yet one question in particular, "The State of Israel is part of the Messianic redemption" received at least a 5 percent less respondent rate, the fewest responses for any question.
Limitations
Like most surveys, The Commentator's religion index suffered from ambiguities in the questions as well as in the style the survey was conducted. Yet because the survey was completely anonymous, using students' ID numbers to verify their class standing, they also were exceptionally forthcoming and honest. Nevertheless, The Commentator received numerous emails from students complaining that they could not answer questions which were too vague.
The majority of the questions in the survey posed a statement which students were expected to answer according to a spectrum; either (a) strongly agree, (b) mildly agree, (3) strongly disagree, or (4) mildly disagree. Often students felt that an answer such as "strongly disagree" could be interpreted in two entirely different manners; either they thought the statement was entirely too extreme or not liberal enough. Thus, it may be difficult to contend that a "strongly disagree" answer can be understood to be either modernist or traditional.
Another limitation was the proportions of students surveyed; the volunteer nature of the survey made a representative sample all the more difficult to achieve. Students who responded, therefore, had the most interest in the subject matter or exhibited a greater degree of school spirit than others. Nevertheless, we were pleasantly surprised with the 36 percent response, and believe that while the data may not be representative, it does reflect a rudimentary understanding at least of the Yeshiva student psyche. Also, with regards to questions skipped, there is no definitive way to assess why students did not respond, and therefore it cannot be stated whether or not their lack of response is significant.
Suggestions
The data is currently available to the public through the Yeshiva University libraries as well as through various administrative offices in the university. As the organizers were not social scientists or statisticians, the full breadth of the data remains to be understood. It therefore should be reevaluated by those interested in the findings and republished in a manner that will reflect a more in-depth analysis.
Similarly, since a large proportion of the question base came from an earlier survey, efforts should be made to compare the findings of the 2005 Wilf Campus survey with Dr. Chaim Waxman's 1987 survey, which included both YC and SCW. Since Dr. Waxman's data of Yeshiva's male and female undergraduates, which is available through the Yeshiva University Libraries, was originally presented together. Therefore efforts should be made to isolate the tendencies of the then male and female populations. Doing so will allow for a more accurate comparison with the current data.
Additionally, Dr. David Rettinger, professor of psychology at YC and a member of the Academic Integrity Committee, is currently conducting his own study to evaluate the academic integrity of students. His too is an online survey. We recommend an analysis of his data according to the Jewish studies and undergraduate college breakdown, in an effort to corroborate data found in The Commentator survey.
Conclusion
At the recent YSU presidential candidate debate, prior to last week's elections, the question was posed to the candidates "Is there an ideal Yeshiva student?" The survey merely rephrases the question as whether or not we can make generalizations about Yeshiva students, and in particular, on the basis of their undergraduate college and Jewish studies enrollment. Stereotypes of course have circulated since far before our time here. No study, perhaps, can alter the public perceptions so strongly engrained in popular conception. Nevertheless, we believe the data included makes the case for a diverse student body at Yeshiva, even while common grounds of expression and ideology exist. It would be foolish to conclude in one sentence that Yeshiva students are "modernist" or "traditionalist," especially in light of this survey's numerous limitations. Yet certain tendencies are certainly apparent, and if anything, we have shown that there is reasonable range of attitudes and perhaps even room for increased dialogue. Our student body has clearly given thought to a vast spectrum of important questions for contemporary young adults, and we hope that future surveys will attract even wider audiences.
Significant results are summarized as follows:
- The survey revealed that almost all students have experienced tensions between religion and modern society, and that they did not necessarily turn to Yeshiva's recourses for help.
- Though most students wanted to live in Jewish neighborhoods, they also valued heterogeneous workplaces and communities. Most respondents thought it was important to have relations with non-observant Jews as well as non-Jews, though support for the former outweighed support for the latter. Particularly, students were not willing to compromise on religious values in order to maintain contacts with non-Jews.
- The respondents generally thought that secular studies hold intrinsic value, with most students exhibiting a strong affinity for secular studies beyon relevance to vocation. Furthermore, more than four out of five students agreed that modern life does not make Orthodox Judaism untenable.
- On the role of women in the Jewish community, Yeshiva students exhibited modernist tendencies. Two-thirds of Yeshiva students felt that women could learn the same Torah material as men, though the same amount opposed the idea of women being ordained as public religious figures. Nevertheless, students strongly favored women taking up leadership positions within the Jewish community, such as being directors of Jewish organizations, and only a negligible number felt strongly that women should not seek careers outside the home at all.
- Yeshiva students overwhelmingly demonstrated a cognitive difference of understanding when considering religion in public policy in the United States versus in Israel. The number of respondents agreeing that religious belief should be considered when deciding American public policy almost doubled when it came to deciding Israeli policy. Perhaps this is due to strong messianic tendencies in students' perception of Israel: 85 percent of students polled agreed that the "State of Israel is part of Messianic redemption," half strongly and half mildly, and 92 percent believed the State had at least some "instrinsic religious significance."
- On the American front, questions addressing homosexual marriage and abortion elicited an average response distribution that is within comprehension for a religious institution. Half of the respondents strongly disagreed with granting homosexuals marriage rights. As for abortion, the percentages seemed to reflect the greater American spectrum: almost as many students were in agreement as disagreement. Students seemed to favor a more modernist stance when it came to abortion being legalized for "dire circumstances such as rape and when the birthing mother is placed in grave danger," with two out of three students more or less in support.
- Finally, over 90 percent of respondents agreed that "Cheating on exams and papers is a violation of Jewish values and cannot be condoned." Significantly, YC and MYP students strongly agreed with the statement at a rate twelve percent higher and 23 percent higher than their peers at SSSB and IBC/JSS respectively. YC and MYP students were also least likely to cheat on exams or papers, in reality.
Student respondents certainly exhibited a traditionalist core of values, though modernist tendencies were plainly visible. The most intriguing aspect of the survey can perhaps be found in the trends of the Jewish Studies programs. Throughout the survey MYP was by and large the most conservative; IBC and JSS were most liberal. However, there were questions that aligned MYP and JSS against BMP and IBC, and other questions led to different configurations. Though conclusive analysis must be left for further study, the survey did reveal profound differences amongst the four programs. Similarly, YC and SSSB tended to differ on a number of issues, most significantly when evaluating tolerance for cheating. It is our hope that these trends and disparities are probed further in future research and examination of the results herein.
Acknowledgements
The online survey was designed by Commentator webmaster Eli Hamburger, who built the databases and maintained the pages. The Commentator staff and survey organizers thank Eli for his unrelenting efforts, professionalism and enthusiasm throughout the process.
The Commentator also thanks Vice President of University Life Hillel Davis and the office of Management Information Services for their input and assistance. We also wish to thank Dr. Chaim Waxman for generously donating his time and allowing us to borrow from his question bank. Dr. James Vrettos was also helpful in brainstorming various ways of attracting the largest sample possible. Finally, we thank John Marttila and Richard Berkowitz for offering their experience in interpreting the data.