Is Jewish a race or religion? Can a Jew not being Jewish or Jewish not being a Jew?
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actually both because its religous in context but the name tagged to their religion kinda hard one there bacause hebrews the same same or was it hebrews was race jews was religion you get better answer post on comment please because now im confused
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Judaism is definitely a religion and perhaps an inherited deep sense of identity.
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mushroom The word you're looking for is "culture." There is a culture Jews bring with them from place to place, and while it might be subordinated by the host culture, it is still retained. "Race" is generally a meaning of biological features: skin color, body type, facial features. Obviously, all religions can be applied across races. -
Saltlick The Jews seem to be a pinched off gene pool and could be called a breed.
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a jew is jewish and jewish people are jews. jews marry other jews to produce more jewish jews which they then feed jewish beliefs so those kids can grow up jewishly and marry other jews to carry on the jewish jew heritage. in this way it is both a religion AND a race.
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mushroom
And Christians don't marry Christians? And Muslims don't marry Muslims? And Hindus don't marry Hindus? Religious identity has become such a divisive factor in society because of increased mobility in the past century. It was much easier for people to stick with their own when they rarely travelled a day's distance from their birthplace.
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"I'm not a Jew, I'm jew-ish." Not sure how original this is but it made me smile. Seen it on a T-shirt. Heard it from Sir Johnathan Miller*. * He is an atheist, but his parents were Jews. I think.
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mushroom
You don't look bluish! --Paul Angelis "Yellow Submarine"
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It is both (although I wouldn't say "race" so much as "ethnicity"). A Jew can be Jewish ethnically (born to Jewish parents) speaking but atheist (or any other religious affiliation). A Jew can be Jewish religiously (believe in the teachings of Moses and follow the Torah) but not born to Jewish parents (like a convert or perhaps adopted by Jewish parents). (The ethnicity is said to be genetic through the mother, but many who have it through only their father still typically claim to be "half-Jewish".)
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Both and neither. It is a heritage and way of life passed on through the Mother. One has no choices but to follow or not follow Jewish laws. By following Jewish laws one is religious by default. It answer is quite more complex than mine but go to judaism101.com which is an excellent website with a wealth of information. Have a great day.
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mushroom
What happened to Judaism in the past 150 years is a split between Orthodox and secular - the latter pushed along by the formation of a "reform" movement, once shockingly divergent from the old laws, but over time having become more focused on traditions, if not strict adherence to rituals.
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The descendants of the patriarch Judah, the son who received the promise from his father Israel, are Jews. The Nation of Israel today is Jewish. Non Descendants may become part of the Jewish religion, just as Jews can become Christian.
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This is the million dollar question, one I've been asking for years and to which I never get a straight answer. As an Atheist, my understanding that being Jewish is like being Muslim or Christian: a religion. So, if that is the case, then how can there be secular/Atheist Jews? Wouldn't that be like saying a secular/Atheist Muslim or Christian? (And, yeah, I know that there are a bunch of whack jobs you've taking to calling themselves Christian Atheists and those don't count!). What I infer from all of this is that Judaism is not a religion but a culture, an ethnicity. That would be the only logical explanation to satisfy the intelligence of someone who knows what it's truly like to be secular and/or an Atheist. It's nothing more and nothing less than theistic double talk
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mushroom
Exactly. Judaism is a culture carried from place to place, and adherence to religious doctrine varies.
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All Jewish people are Jews. But, not all Jews are Jewish. Hope this helps.
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