Much has been written about the reluctance of African Americans to seek help from psychotherapists. But when it comes to getting professional treatment for anxiety, depression, or other mental-health disorders, the biggest divide may not be between blacks and whites, but between Jews and everyone else. A study of elderly New Yorkers, just published in the Journal of Religion and Health finds “Jews had greater confidence in a therapist’s ability to help, were more tolerant of stigma, and more open to sharing their feelings and concerns” than either blacks or non-Jewish whites. Given ... Read More
Parenting’s Asian-Jewish Connection
April 8, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Asian-Jewish couples share remarkably similar values — but they're not rearing their children like Tiger Mother Amy Chua, a new study reports. Noah Leavitt and Helen Kim — a married couple and both sociologists at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. — interviewed 37 Asian-Jewish couples over two years. The families lived in Northern and Southern California, Philadelphia and New York City. They included Asian-American men married to Jewish women and Jewish men married to Asian-American women, as well as straight and gay couples. Their ages ranged from 20s to 70s; some were parents ... Read More
Europe’s Muslims Get to be the Continent’s New Jews
December 12, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
In part two of the Miller-McCune interview with Islamic scholar Reza Aslan, we explore the various manifestations of Islamophobia in Europe, from the banning of minarets and religious clothing to the rise of ultra-right wing anti-Islam parties. Aslan — the author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam and Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East, published this month — addresses the mythos surrounding Europe's Muslim population while offering some positive alternatives to the negative rhetoric and fear-mongering perpetrated both in Europe and ... Read More
