Abstract
What factors account for the decision to marry exogamously in second marriages in a community with a long history of valuing endogamous marriage? That question is addressed by an analysis of a subsample of remarried Jewish respondents drawn from the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey. While several demographic and family background factors: sex, denominational family background, religious education, year of marriage, and academic attainment are found to predict a first intermarriage, only two are significantly related to exogamy in remarriage: academic attainment and year of marriage. Surprisingly, academic attainment increases the likelihood of endogamy in first marriage, but exogamy in remarriage. The findings suggest that previous theories bearing on the subject require greater integration of structural, cultural, and interactionist assumptions about mate selection.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Bibliography
ADAMS, B. N. (1979). “Mate Selection in the United States: A Theoretical Summarization.” In W. R. Burr, R. Hill, F. I. Nye, & Reiss I. (eds.),Contemporary Theories About the Family (vol. 1) (pp.259–267), New York: Free Press.
BAHR, H. M. (1981). Religious Intermarriage and Divorce in Utah and the Mountain States.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 20(3): 251–261.
BECKER, G. S. (1973). “A Theory of Marriage.”Journal of Political Economy, 81, 813–845.
CHERLIN, A. (1981).Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
GLICK, P. C. (1986). “Recent Changes in Divorce and Remarriage”Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48(4), 737–747.
GORDON, M.M. (1964).Assimilation in American Life. New York: Oxford University Press.
HEISS, J. S. (1960). “Premarital Characteristics of the Religiously Intermarried in an Urban Area”American Sociological Review, 25(2).
— (1961). “Interfaith Marriage and Marital Outcome”Journal of Marriage and Family Living, 23(1): 228–233.
KOSMIN, B. A., LERER, N., & MAYER E. (1989)Intermarriage, Divorce and Remarriage Among American Jews, 1982–87. New York: North American Jewish Data Bank.
KOSMIN, B. A., GOLDSTEIN, S., WAKSBERG, J., LERER, N., KEYSAR, A., & SCHECKNER, J. (1991).Highlights of the CJF 1990 National Jewish Population Survey. New York: Council of Jewish Federations.
LANDIS, J. (1948). “Marriages of Mixed and Non-Mixed Religious Faith”American Sociological Review, 14(3): 401–407.
MAYER, E. (1980). “Processes and Outcomes in Marriages Between Jews and Non-Jews”American Behavioral Scientist, 23(4): 487–517.
MERTON, R. (1941). “Intermarriage and the Social Structure”Psychiatry, 4(3): 361–374.
PETERS, J. F. (1976). “A Comparison of Mate Selection and Marriage in First and Second Marriages in a Selected Sample of the Remarried Divorced”Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 7(3): 483–490.
RODGERS, R. H., & CONRAD, L. M. (1986). “Courtship for Remarriage: Influences on Family Reorganization After Divorce”Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48(4): 767–775.
ROSENTHAL, E. (1963). “Studies of Jewish Intermarriages in the United States.”American Jewish Yearbook. New York: American Jewish Committee, pp. 58–63.
SHERROW F. S. (1971).Patterns of Religious Intermarriage Among American College Students. Ph.D. Dissertation, Columbia University.
SMITH, TOM W. (1992)What Do Americans Think About Jews N.Y.: American Jewish Committee.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keysar, A., Kosmin, B.A., Lerer, N. et al. Exogamy in first marriages and remarriages: An analysis of mate selection in first and second marriages among American Jews in the 1990s, and its theoretical implications. Cont Jewry 12, 45–66 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02965534
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02965534