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A report by a leading national synagogue research organization credits Orthodox Jews and Jews-by-choice with reversing the trend of diminishing spirituality among American Jews.

Synagogue 3000 released in March the results of a study authored by Steven M. Cohen and Lawrence A. Hoffman that explored the spirituality of American Jews. Some of the findings were consistent with past studies, such as the gap in spirituality between American Jews and non-Jews (non-Jews have always scored higher than Jews on such studies). But other findings may shed some light on where the American Jewish community is headed.

For example, while older Americans are more spiritual, according to the study, than younger Americans, younger American Jews are more spiritual than their Jewish elders.

"Whatever the causes, the lower levels of religious and spiritual interest among younger non-Jewish Americans underscore the quite startling contrary tendencies among American Jews," the authors write.

On the five indices of spirituality -- spiritual inclination, spiritual mentoring, belief in God, importance of religion, and number of spiritual experiences -- young Jews scored higher than the middle-aged and elderly.

"These patterns are remarkable not just because they run counter to the general patterns among non-Jewish Americans, where old out-score young, but also to the patterns for Jewish identity among American Jews discov-ered elsewhere," the authors write, referring to research showing that younger American Jews show lower levels of religious practice and affiliation than older Jews.

One explanation for this, the authors write, is that "Orthodox Jews far outscore non-Orthodox on every measure" of spirituality. The authors write that Orthodox Judaism itself has taken on an increased spiritual dimension.

"Orthodoxy today has been shaped not just by the details of halakhah but the spiritual reasoning behind those details, especially through the Rov, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, whose writings ('Halakhic Man' and 'The Lonely Man of Faith') are unabashedly spiritual," the authors write, adding that the mussar movement deserves much of the credit as well.

The authors note that although all Jewish denominations believe in matters such as God's purpose and God's relationship with nature and the environment, Orthodox Jews are much more likely to actually spend time studying these and other spiritual topics. Additionally, Orthodox Jews have significantly higher rates of synagogue attendance and ritual practice.

Among the non-Orthodox American Jews (92 percent, according to the study), the authors found a discrepancy between Jews with two Jewish parents and extended Jews-by-choice, which the study considers children of mixed marriages and converts. Jewish-by-choice scored much higher in the study than did non-Orthodox Jews with two Jewish parents.

The demographics of the American Jewish community, the study notes, shows a higher percentage of Orthodox Jews and Jewish-by-choice among the younger generation than ever before. Orthodox Jews make up 15 percent of American Jews under 35, according to the study, but are only 5 percent of Jews age 65 and older. Jewish-by-choice make up 28 percent of American Jews under 35, but only 9 percent over 65. Thus, the percentage of non-Orthodox Jews with two Jewish parents goes from 86 percent of Jews over 65 to only 57 percent of Jews under 35.

"The composition of the Jewish popula-tion has been shifting dramatically, and with it, the openness to, and interest in, things spiritual," the authors write. "The two population groups with higher levels of spiritual interests have been grow-ing, while the once numerically domi-nant group with lower levels of such interest has been in demographic decline. The presence of more Orthodox Jews and more Jews of non-Jewish ancestry means more Jews culturally pre-disposed to spiritual concerns."

The study notes that, for the most part, younger Jews with two Jewish parents are slightly more spiritual in certain categories than their elders as well. The authors conclude by musing on the implications the study would have for Jewish -- and especially synagogue -- life in America.

If, the authors write, spirituality is a response to a universal drive -- such as physical desires or needs -- then Jews are "probably" just as spiritual as other Americans.

"But spirituality is more probably a cultural variable," they write. "That is why we struggle with finding an appropriate language to describe it."

This, the authors write, shows two significant findings. The first is that, thanks to Orthodox Jews and Jewish-by-choice, the spirituality of American Jewry is increasing. The second point is that Jewish-by-choice, especially converts, are playing an outsize role in the continuity of Jewish spirituality -- and in fact find common ground and purpose with the Orthodox Jews, despite not having been born Jewish.

"We must conclude, then, that the Jewish culture we have inherited in the United States is not particularly spiritual," the authors write. "But that culture is changing. Receptivity to spiritual-ity is undoubtedly mounting, especially among the two population segments that are growing: Orthodox Jews and Extended Jews-by-Choice. Even for a minority of older American Jews it remains one more route to Jewish engagement, beyond the traditional ones; and accenting spirituality will especially broaden Judaism's appeal for Judaism among Extended Jews-by-Choice, who sometimes feel marginalized among born Jews but find familiarity in spirituality."

The authors also write that the demographic shift will likely force the Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews to confront divisive issues. While the non-Orthodox used to be a dominant majority, marginalizing both the Orthodox and converts, they are only a 57 percent majority among Jews under 35, and can no longer be dismissive of religious influence in American Jewish life.

The role of the Orthodox in Jewish life has been a consistent source of discord, especially in the news media and with regard to Israel. In March, newspapers such as the New York Times and the Israeli daily Haaretz published accusations that Orthodox Israeli soldiers used their ideology to justify war crimes in Israel's recent counteroffensive against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. It later turned out that the allegations were false, and were peddled by an Israeli who had been previously jailed for purposefully endangering the lives of religious Jews visiting Hebron.

Religious Jews have also been blamed widely for increased settlement activity in Jewish villages in the West Bank, which critics have claimed decreases the land on which a future Palestinian state would be established. However, as Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Elliot Abrams pointed out in a recent column for the Washington Post, after 10 years of settlement activity since the failed Camp David negotiations, the Palestinians in January were offered between 98 percent and 98.5 percent of the West Bank, versus the 97 percent they were offered a decade ago.

The study acknowledges that all sectors of American Jewish life, including the Orthodox and converts, must now, too, have a voice in Jewish public affairs.

"The special appeal of spirituality to the Orthodox opens another possible salutary benefit of an emphasis on spirituality in Jewish life," the authors write. "The huge impending demo-graphic growth of Orthodoxy within the American Jewish population will require the coming generation of Jewish leaders to attend more carefully to points of tension and conflict between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews. Spirituality may serve as a common religious language that allows both Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews to share interests, activities, and perspectives."