Ilana Horwitz

Demonstrates and explains why girls raised by Jewish parents are 23% more likely to graduate college.

Shows the internal and external struggles that family members experience as they negotiate their Jewish commitments, and the potential unintended consequences that might arise from such negotiations.

Suggests that adolescents’ religious commitments influence their schooling in both the short and long term and should be more actively included and theorized as important drivers of educational and economic stratification.

Helps lower-income Jewish parents in the Greater Philadelphia area weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Shows how parents with strong social ties in the Jewish community were able to connect to people and institutions of power, such as rabbis and Jewish organizations, who provided valuable material resources while families sheltered in place.

Draws on 10 years of survey data with over 3,000 teenagers and over 200 interviews, GGG shows that intensely religious teens receive more education, but often at lower quality colleges. Atheists also do well, though for different reasons.

Discusses how girls with a Jewish upbringing are more likely to graduate college and also attend more selective colleges than do girls with a non-Jewish upbringing, even after controlling for social origins during adolescence. Mentions religious subculture is a key factor in this educational stratification. Explores that paths to self-concept congruence help explain why educational outcomes vary by religion in gendered ways.

Synthesizes literature on how adolescents’ religious commitment and background are associated with their short- and long-term academic outcomes.