ABSTRACT
Most research on Jewish communities around the world tends to investigate the "Jewishness" of such communities, and to ask to what extent given communities are assimilating their "Jewishness. The Jews have been placed by French history in the anti-clerical, non-Catholic community, a community which regards all religious adherence as outmoded. Many have pointed to the lack of centralized organization within the American Jewish community as a source of weakness. The intellectual achievements of American Jews in the university and elsewhere have sometimes been contrasted with the lesser achievements of English Jewry. The one group of social scientists who have studied Jews systematically are those working on the problem of alcoholism. They are fascinated by the fact that Jews have a much lower rate of alcoholism than any other major ethnic-religious group. Jews contribute more to charitable causes; they spend more on the "good life" for themselves and their families than do Protestants at the same income level.
