Not that many American Jews believe in life after death, study finds

(JTA) — Only 38 percent of American Jews believe in an afterlife, far fewer than in Israel, according to a new study of spiritual practices around the world.

That share was lower than the 83 percent of U.S. Christians who believe in life after death, as well as the 58 percent of Israeli Jews who say there is an afterlife.

The finding dovetailed with other results in the survey published May 6 by the Pew Research Center, which found that Jews were among the least likely in the United States to say animals or objects can have spirits, or that features of nature such as mountains or rivers have s...