Intermarriage

This is probably one of the hottest topics in American Jewry today and while many factors can contribute to it - i think a lot of how American Jews have come to view Intermarriage are based mostly around the environment in which they grow up.

Since the US is such a diverse country (salad bowl, melting pot - pick your metaphor), there are so many different ways the people here can connect to people of different cultures, and the rates of exposure to these diversities are much higher in this country then others. Many American Jews have assimiliated to some extent into American Culture - sending their children to non-parochial schools, and doing many other extra-curricular activities that truly broaden the horizon when it comes to learning about different kinds of people other than your own. It's personally one of the things that i find so wonderful about the country i live in.

But with this new freedom, as we grow up, the people we meet, and develop relationships with aren't necessarily the same religion as us - except if you happen to live in one of the "Jewish suburbs," that have tended to form in many metropolitian areas (Pikesville (Baltimore), Squirrel Hill (Pittsburgh) etc.) The Jewish people aren't as concentrated, and thus - yes, we are tending to intermarry more than we used to.

The term intermarriage has become such a derogatory term, that many Jews only talk about it in the context of gossip / lashon hara. If we stopped to think about what we can do to support these couples, we would be doing a much better job of instilling jewish familial values, which is the prime reason many people do not condone intermarriage, along with having jewish babies.