The detrimental impacts of state-funded Jewish day schools on synagogue communities.

What is it about?

The article highlights some of the challenges for synagogue communities associated with the recent increase of state-funded Jewish day school education in England. In particular, Jewish schools are often viewed as alternative spaces of Jewish education and socialization, rather than necessarily supporting synagogues, whilst enforced changes to Jewish schools' admissions practices have stimulated many parents to view synagogue attendance merely instrumentally, as a means of attaining a place in a Jewish school. The perspectives of different stakeholders in the Anglo-Jewish community, including rabbis representing a range of Jewish movements, drive the study.

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Why is it important?

In spite of considerable research regarding faith schools in the social sciences, little attention has been paid to the interactions between faith schools and places of worship. This study reveals that the growth in faith schools in countries such as England may have negative impacts on places of worship, rather than these institutions working to one another's benefit.