June 23, 2016 – Forward

Mark Trencher, the director of Nishma Research, noted that there was an inverse relationship between level of observance while still a part of Orthodox Judaism and level of observance after leaving.

The study was a joint effort with Footsteps, an organization that helps facilitate the transition out of Modern and ultra-Orthodox communities for those wishing to leave. It may be difficult to leave Orthodox Judaism, or simply leave a specific community, if an individual does not know people outside the community, does not have the material means to leave, or does not have sufficient English skills to live on their own.

‘The only surprising thing to us was how many people filled it out in a week and a half,’ says Lani Santo, the executive director of Footsteps. ‘It’s great to have quantitative data on things that we as an organization have known qualitatively for some time.’

Read the full article here. Review the full survey results here.