Tradition and Technology: The COVID-19 Pandemic as Catalyst for Lasting Transformation in American Jewish Communal Practice

Author: Blake McCabe

Field of Study: Anthropology

Faculty Mentors: Thomas Wilson, Randy Friedman

Easel: 28

Timeslot: Midday

Abstract: In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Jewish communities were forced to reimagine American Jewish religious life in the US, accelerating shifts in authority, practice, and communal belonging. This research integrates quantitative and qualitative research conducted across the U.S. and all Jewish denominations digitally and analyzes how Jewish communities navigated Halachic (Jewish law) tensions related to technology use, ritual adaptation, communal engagement, and authority. Drawing on Geertz’s theory of religion as a cultural system (1973) and recent anthropological research on digital religion and mediated ritual (Campbell 2012; Miller et al. 2021; Postill 2017), the research examines how the pandemic accelerated shifts in religious practice and communal norms. Based on digital surveys and interviews, the study identifies a gap in national data on minority religious groups, as noted by the Pew Religious Landscape Study (2024) and enriches anthropological discussions on religious change, digital mediation, and minority resilience.