The Role of Religion in Shaping Ethnic Identity in Jewish Children of Contemporary Russia

Abstract

It is commonly believed that for the majority of the Soviet-raised Russian Jews, Judaism and its practices have not played a significant part in shaping their Jewish identity. For today’s Russian Jewish children, however, the personal development is mainly defined by their families, so the religious education and practical observance of Jewish rites and customs form the very basis for their identity. Studying the specifics of this mechanism in Russian Jewish children also reveals a correlation between the parents’ religious views and their determination to raise their offspring within the Jewish tradition.