Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 69.djvu/512

508 of their future children. Of these 685, or 85.64 per cent., declared that they desired to bring up their children as christians, and only 116, or 14.36 per cent., decided in favor of the Jewish religion. It is a striking fact that even in cases where the parents registered themselves as freethinkers married to Jews, one half declared their intention to raise their children in the tenets of the christian church. The Jews thus lose in Hungary 85.64 per cent, of the children born of mixed marriages, which is a net gain to the christian church.

In New South Wales, also, it was found that most of the children resulting from mixed marriages are raised as christians. Of the children born to Jews married to christian women, 44 were Jewish and 119 christian; of the children of christians married to Jewesses, 35 were christian and 20 Jewish. The net result is that from the children born to Jewish husbands married to christian wives only 26.99 per cent, were Jewish, and from children born to christian husbands married to Jewish wives 36.36 per cent, are Jewish. It is noteworthy that here the mother has more influence than the father in determining the religion of the children.

In Copenhagen, where the number of mixed marriages is very large, Salomon states that most of the children are raised as christians. The same conditions are stated to prevail in Italy and France.

In Prussia this subject has been studied by the census officials for many years. The result is this: About 75 per cent, of all the children are christian, and only 25 per cent, are Jewish. Thus between 1885 and 1900 the figures are as follows:

These figures represent the children who lived with their parents in the census years mentioned, and show distinctly that only 25 per cent, of them are Jews, although among the parents 50 per cent, of Jews are represented. It is noteworthy that in Prussia it is the husband's religion which has more influence in determining the religious affiliation of the offspring. During the census of 1900 it was found that in families where the mother was Jewish and the father christian only 20.08 per cent, of the children were Jewish, as against 27.67 per cent, in families where the father was Jewish and the mother christian.

It must also be mentioned that this does not represent the entire loss sustained by the Jews through intermarriage. A person who has one parent of christian origin, even if raised as a Jew, is more likely to marry a christian than a Jew when he becomes of age, because socially he comes in intimate contact with his christian relatives. It is