NEW YORK (AP) — The first survey of U.S. Jewish congregations in 65 years has found 3,727 synagogues across the country.
The 1936 synagogue census had found 2,851 congregations.
The 2001 study by the American Jewish Committee, released this month, found 40 percent of the congregations were Orthodox, 26 percent Reform and 23 percent Conservative. The remaining congregations were affiliated with Reconstructionist, Humanistic and other streams of Judaism.
The share of Orthodox synagogues was notable because the Orthodox comprise less than 10 percent of the estimated 6 million American Jews.
The survey found most of the synagogues for the nation's estimated 6 million Jews were concentrated in metropolitan areas. A third are in the greater New York-northern New Jersey area.
Reform synagogues are predominant in small communities and more rural areas such as Arkansas, Idaho and Mississippi, where 90 percent or more of all synagogues are Reform.
The data was collected from all organizations representing synagogues, including United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Orthodox Union, Union of American Hebrew Congregations and others.