Analysis of Synagogue Attendance in Israel
Ahead of Yom Kippur, this analysis looks at data collected on attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies in Orthodox synagogues, as well as in Reform or Conservative synagogues in Israel. A majority of Jewish Israelis attend synagogue at least once per year.
Photo by David Cohen/Flash90
- 61% of the Jewish public in Israel attend prayers and ceremonies at an Orthodox synagogue at least once or twice a year, while 14% do so at a Reform or Conservative synagogue.
- Men attend Orthodox synagogues more than women (66% versus 55%, respectively), and do so much more frequently (27% of men attend at least once or twice a week, whereas just 2% of women attend synagogue on days other than Shabbat or holidays).
- More than 95% of Haredi and national religious Jews, 76% of traditional Jews, and 31% of secular Jews attend an Orthodox synagogue at least once or twice a year. In Reform and Conservative synagogues the distribution is very different, and these are attended mainly by traditional Jews (22% once or twice a year) and secular Jews (15%).
- The proportion of voters for coalition parties who attend prayers in an Orthodox synagogue at least once or twice a year is considerably larger than the equivalent share of voters for opposition parties—over 85% of voters for Haredi and national religious parties, 62% of Likud voters, 55% of National Unity voters, 45% of Yisrael Beytenu voters, 43% of Labor voters, and 37% of Yesh Atid voters.
- Attendance at non-Orthodox synagogues is more common among opposition party voters—around a quarter of Labor voters and around a fifth of voters for Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beytenu, and National Unity attend a Reform or Conservative synagogue at least once or twice a year, compared to 14% of Likud voters and around 10% of voters for Shas and Religious Zionism.
In Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur is considered to be the holiest day of the year. As on Shabbat, Jews are commanded to rest from work, and in addition, to fast and to engage in extensive prayer. Many Jews in Israel and the Diaspora, even those who are not religious, mark this day in some way: there are those who observe all the commandments related to Yom Kippur, while others choose to uphold only some of them: fasting, refraining from traveling by car, or attending some of the prayers. A public opinion poll conducted several years ago by the Viterbi Family Center at the Israel Democracy Institute found that most Jews in Israel go to synagogue on Yom Kippur, for all or some of the prayers, and most of them fast.Tamar Herrman and Or Anabi, “The majority of the Jewish public intends to fast on Yom Kippur,” Israel Democracy Institute website, October 7, 2019. This survey found that 60% were planning to fast on Yom Kippur and another 5% were planning to drink but to refrain from eating (compared to 63% in 2000 and 73% in 1994). Regarding participation in prayers, 54% were planning to attend synagogue, of which 23% were planning to attend all the prayers, 19% some of the prayers, and another 12% just to hear the shofar blowing (the survey did not distinguish between synagogues of different denominations).
This review looks at attendance by the Jewish public at prayers or religious ceremonies in synagogues in general, and Yom Kippur prayers in particular. It is based on an analysis of a comprehensive survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute in September 2024 for the Biennial Statistical Report on Religion and State in Israel, published by the Institute (edited by Ariel Finkelstein, Ayala Goldberg, Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, and Ya’ari Padan). The survey sampled 1,001 Jewish interviewees aged 18 and over, constituting a representative sample of adult Jewish society in Israel.
As part of the survey, data were gathered on attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies in Orthodox synagogues, as well as in Reform or Conservative synagogues. In other words, the questions in the survey were not about habits of prayer per se, but about synagogue attendance. The questions also addressed visiting the synagogue for religious ceremonies, which may include events such as circumcisions, bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies, and marriage ceremonies. The interviewees were given several response options: daily, several times a week, mainly on Shabbat and holidays, once or twice a year, and not at all.
It can be assumed that reports of attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies in a synagogue at least once or twice a year roughly represent the public’s attendance at High Holy Day prayers—on Rosh Hashanah and/or Yom Kippur—though in some cases, as mentioned, these reports may refer to participation in family events.
The majority of Jews attend synagogue services at least once a year. Overall, 61% report attending an Orthodox synagogue, a significantly larger share than of those who attend prayer at a Reform or Conservative synagogue, which stands at 14%. Thus, the remainder of this review will compare internal trends in synagogue attendance data for each denomination.
An analysis of the data on attendance at Orthodox synagogues by gender reveals significant differences between men and women:
Figure 1. Frequency of attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies in Orthodox synagogues, by gender (Jews; %)
Source: Biennial Statistical Report on Religion and State in Israel 2024, Israel Democracy Institute
The proportion of men who attend prayers or religious ceremonies at Orthodox synagogues is higher than the equivalent share of women: 66% of men attend an Orthodox synagogue at least once or twice a year, compared to 55% of women. In addition, men attend synagogue more often than women: while almost no women visit synagogue more frequently than just on Shabbat and holidays (2%), 27% of men attend at least several times a week, and most of these (21%) turn up daily.
By contrast, in Reform and Conservative synagogues, there are no substantial differences in attendance patterns between men and women: 15% of men and 14% of women attend prayers or religious ceremonies at a Reform or Conservative synagogue, most of them once or twice a year.
Figure 2. Frequency of attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies in Reform or Conservative synagogues, by gender (Jews; %)
Source: Biennial Statistical Report on Religion and State in Israel 2024, Israel Democracy Institute
In order to roughly estimate the extent of attendance at Yom Kippur prayers, the figures below focus on those who answered that they visit a synagogue at least once or twice a year. Due to the difference found between men and women in terms of attendance at Orthodox synagogues, the data are also presented by gender.
The proportion of traditional respondents (men and women) who attend religious prayers or ceremonies at an Orthodox synagogue at least once a year is 76%, while the equivalent share among national religious and Haredi Jews is more than 95%, and 31% among secular Jews. In other words, there is a difference of more than 40 percentage points in synagogue attendance rates between traditional non-religious Jews and secular Jews.
Figure 3. Attend prayers or religious ceremonies at an Orthodox synagogue at least once or twice a year, by gender and religious self-definition (Jews; %)
Source: Analysis of data from the Biennial Statistical survey on Religion and State in Israel 2024, Israel Democracy Institute
The discrepancy between men and women is also evident throughout the segmentation by religious self-definition, such that in almost every group, men attend synagogue prayers at a higher rate than do women, except in the Haredi group, where similar proportions of men (95%) and women (96%) are found to participate in prayers or religious ceremonies in synagogue. In addition, the attendance rate of men increases as we move along the continuum from the secular to the national religious groups: traditional Jewish men attend synagogue more than secular Jewish men, and national religious Jewish men more than traditional Jewish men.It is possible that the slightly lower rate found among Haredi men relative to national religious men and to Haredi women stems from under-reporting by Haredi yeshiva students regarding prayer in a “synagogue,” as per the wording of the question, in that they actually attend prayers in the yeshiva (which for our purposes, is the same as attending a synagogue).
The rate of women’s attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies in Orthodox synagogues in general also increases as we move from the secular to the national religious groups, though similar rates were found in the traditional non-religious and traditional religious groups (69% and 70% respectively), and among national religious women and Haredi women (97% and 96% respectively).
By contrast, the distribution of rates of attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies in Reform or Conservative synagogues by religiosity is completely different: the groups with the highest attendance rate are the traditional non-religious (22%) and traditional religious (19%), followed by the secular (15%).
Figure 4. Attend prayers or religious ceremonies at a Reform or Conservative synagogue at least once or twice a year, by religious self-definition (Jews; %)
Source: Biennial Statistical Report on Religion and State in Israel 2024, Israel Democracy Institute
The gradation between the various age groups in rates of attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies is moderate, both in Orthodox synagogues and in Reform or Conservative synagogues. However, when comparing the denominations, they exhibit opposite trends: while the attendance rates at Orthodox synagogues decrease with age, the attendance rates at Reform or Conservative synagogues increase with age.
Figure 5. Attend prayers or religious ceremonies at a synagogue at least once or twice a year, by denomination and age group (Jews; %)
Source: Analysis of data from the Biennial Statistical survey on Religion and State in Israel 2024, Israel Democracy Institute
An analysis of the share of Israeli Jews who attend prayers or religious ceremonies in an Orthodox synagogue at least once a year, by vote in the last elections (November 2022), reveals a sizable difference between coalition voters and opposition voters. The rate of synagogue attendance among voters for each of the three religious parties in the coalition—United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Religious Zionism—is over 80%, while among Likud voters it is somewhat lower, at 62%. By contrast, among voters for the opposition parties, for most parties, the Orthodox synagogue attendance rate is below 50%, the only exception being National Unity voters, with a slightly higher attendance rate of 55%.
Figure 6. Attend prayers or religious ceremonies at an Orthodox synagogue at least once or twice a year, by vote in the 2022 elections (Jews; %)
Source: Analysis of data from the Biennial Statistical survey on Religion and State in Israel 2024, Israel Democracy Institute
The distribution of rates of attendance at prayers or religious ceremonies in Reform or Conservative synagogues, broken down by vote in the elections, is an almost complete inversion of that for Orthodox synagogues: among voters for the coalition parties, the attendance rate at non-Orthodox synagogues is less than 15%, including the Likud party with a rate of 14%; however, for most opposition parties the equivalent rate is 20%, or even slightly higher—the exception being National Unity voters, with a slightly lower attendance rate of 18%.
Figure 7. Attend prayers or religious ceremonies at a Reform or Conservative synagogue at least once or twice a year, by vote in the 2022 elections (Jews; %)
Source: Analysis of data from the Biennial Statistical survey on Religion and State in Israel 2024, Israel Democracy Institute
Finally, it is interesting to note that there is some overlap between those who attend Orthodox synagogues and those who attend Reform or Conservative synagogues. Thus, 19% of Jews who at least once a year attend prayers or religious ceremonies held in an Orthodox synagogue also attend a Reform or Conservative synagogue at least once a year. There may be a number of reasons for this. First, it is possible that many of those attending synagogue, especially those who are not religious and rarely visit there, do not choose which synagogue to attend based on a particular religious orientation, but rather use other criteria such as proximity to where they live or acquaintance with members of the community. Moreover, while some people might prefer to attend prayers only at a Reform or Conservative synagogue, it is possible that if there is no such synagogue near their home, due to the small number of such synagogues, they will attend a nearby Orthodox synagogue, even if it does not reflect their religious outlook. In addition, it may be the case that some of those who report visiting a synagogue once or twice a year are referring to attending family events such as a circumcision or bar or bat mitzvah, which are often held in a synagogue, and in which case their attendance does not reflect a particular choice of synagogue.
The majority of Jews in Israel attend synagogue services at least once a year, most of them in an Orthodox synagogue. Men attend Orthodox synagogues in greater numbers and more often than do women. Most men and women who attend Reform or Conservative synagogues do so once or twice a year. The frequency of synagogue attendance depends to a very large extent on religious self-definition: secular Jews attend synagogue less than the other groups, which attend more frequently, and almost all of whose members participate in synagogue services at least once or twice a year. This finding is also consistent with the distribution found among voters for secular, traditional, and religious parties, as well as the moderate distribution of synagogue attendance by age group.