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On Being Jewish

A Qualitative Study of Identity Among British Jews in Emerging Adulthood

University of Westminster, j.sinclair{at}ioe.ac.uk

David Milner

University of Westminster

This article presents a qualitative study of Jewish identity in emerging adults between ages 18 and 27, drawn from across the mainstream British Jewish community. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The interviews covered three main areas, focusing on the participants’ developmental history and current experience of being Jewish in Britain today: (a) early influences on Jewish identity, (b) the impact of attending university on Jewish identity, and (c) friendships, relationships and marriage. Interpretative phenomenological analysis yielded two superordinate themes of social identity and religious identity. These contained further important subthemes, of which three are highlighted here: kinship and connection, awareness of difference, and faith and observance. The pattern and importance of these shared dimensions of identity were unique to each individual. The findings may enhance our understanding of how it feels to be different as an emerging adult member of an ethnic or religious minority group.

Key Words: ethnic identity • religiosity • emerging adulthood • adolescence • Jewish • British

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Journal of Adolescent Research, Vol. 20, No. 1, 91-117 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0743558404271132


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