Leonard Saxe (born June 12, 1947) is an American

social psychologist Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the rela ...

whose work focuses on

sociology of religion Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of quantitative methods (surveys, ...

, American Jews and the American Jewish community. He is currently the director of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

.Brandeis University faculty page

Sociological research

Saxe has conducted a number of studies on the American Jewish community."Publications by Author. ''Berman Jewish Policy Archive''.
/ref> Saxe's research points to a more positive outlook on concerns of the American Jewish community. His figures show larger than previously reported estimates of the population size of American Jewry.Kamaras, Jacob. New U.S. Jewish population figures may allow community to ‘get beyond the numbers’. ''JNS.org''. October 1, 2013.
/ref>Beckerman, Gal. New Study Finds More Jews in the United States Than Previously Thought. ''The Jewish Daily Forward''. December 22, 2010.
/ref>

2010 Census of American Jews

In 2010, Saxe, along with sociologists Elizabeth Tighe and Charles Kadushin published their secondary data findings from local Jewish community studies. Their findings were intended to act as a census of American Jews, as the National Jewish Population Survey had been cancelled due to budget constraints.Tighe, Elizabeth, Leonard Saxe & Charles Kadushin. Estimating the Jewish Population of the United States: 2000-2010. ''Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS)''. 2011.
/ref>

Birthright-Taglit studies

Saxe has conducted a number of studies on the effect of the Birthright-Taglit program on young American Jews.

Awards

In 2012, Saxe was the recipient of the ASSJ's Marshall Sklare Award for his contributions to the social scientific study of contemporary Jewry.

References

External links