Why do people say judaism is only a religion when it is both a religion and a race?

[IndianHindu]

You can convert to islam or christianity without much difficulty but it is much harder to become a jew...the whole process is very long and burdensome.

A person whose mother is a jew is also by judaism a jew even if that person does not practice his or her religion.

if your dad is a jew but your mom isn't youre not..even if youre the most goodie goodie jew on the planet

[WellTraveledProg]

Because it's not a "race."
There is only one human race, and we're all part of it.
There are people in the Jewish religion from all sorts of ethnic groups.
Just because they make it hard to "convert" doesn't make it a "race."

Peace.

[scaerdrys]

Because it isn't a race. Jews are a religious community that have different rules of inclusion than anyone else. It is still Jewish Halacha Law that defines who is and is not Jewish.

You can convert to Judaism, you can't opt into an ethnic group. The process is harder and longer than Islam and Christianity, but that is because Judaism values sincerity in religious practice, and not conversion for the sake of the eternal soul. It is more important that converts understand the religion that they are getting into and embrace it than that we have many converts.

If your mother was a Jew, and you are an atheist, then you would still be considered Jewish, yes. But if your mother was a Jew, and you converted to another religion and worshiped a non-Jewish divinity, then you would be considered cut off from the Jewish community. The line is drawn where worshipping a non-Jewish god is concerned. Atheists are simply considered Jews that have lapsed in their Jewish faith; converts to other religions are considered to be those who have left Judaism entirely for another religion.

There is no Jewish 'race' or 'ethnicity'----There are Jews of virtually every ethnic group on the planet. What unites us is not our genes, but our religion.
Peace

[NeilS]

Ethnic Jews are a subgroup of the Semites, not a "race." An ethnic Jew is not automatically a religious Jew, either.

[ShimonN]

You are mostly right, according to *rabbinic judaism* If your dad is a Jew the difficulty in conversion isn't really there like if neither of your parents are.

But you are right judaism isn't just a religion it isn't a race but actually an ethnic group.

[barbaraann]

From www.jewfaq.org/judaism.htm

In the 1980s, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Jews are a race, at least for purposes of certain anti-discrimination laws. Their reasoning: at the time these laws were passed, people routinely spoke of the "Jewish race" or the "Italian race" as well as the "N*gro race," so that is what the legislators intended to protect.

But many Jews were deeply offended by that decision, offended by any hint that Jews could be considered a race. The idea of Jews as a race brings to mind nightmarish visions of Nazi Germany, where Jews were declared to be not just a race, but an inferior race that had to be rounded up into ghettos and exterminated like vermin.

But setting aside the emotional issues, Jews are clearly not a race.

Race is a genetic distinction, and refers to people with shared ancestry and shared genetic traits. You can't change your race; it's in your DNA. I could never become black or Asian no matter how much I might want to.

Common ancestry is not required to be a Jew. Many Jews worldwide share common ancestry, as shown by genetic research; however, you can be a Jew without sharing this common ancestry, for example, by converting. Thus, although I could never become black or Asian, blacks and Asians have become Jews (Sammy Davis Jr. and Connie Chung).

The Jewish People are a Family
It is clear from the discussion above that there is a certain amount of truth in the claims that it is a religion, a race, or an ethnic group, none of these descriptions is entirely adequate to describe what connects Jews to other Jews. And yet, almost all Jews feel a sense of connectedness to each other that many find hard to explain, define, or even understand. Traditionally, this interconnectedness was understood as "nationhood" or "peoplehood," but those terms have become so distorted over time that they are no longer accurate.

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has suggested a better analogy for the Jewish people: We are a family. See the third essay in his recent book, We Jews: Who Are We and What Should We Do. But though this is a new book, it is certainly not a new concept: throughout the Bible and Jewish literature, the Jewish people are referred to as "the Children of Israel," a reference to the fact that we are all the physical or spiritual descendants of the Patriarch Jacob, who was later called Israel. In other words, we are part of his extended family.

Like a family, we don't always agree with each other. We often argue and criticize each other. We hold each other to the very highest standards, knowing that the shortcomings of any member of the family will be held against all of us. But when someone outside of the family unfairly criticizes a family member or the family as a whole, we are quick to join together in opposition to that unfair criticism.

When members of our "family" suffer or are persecuted, we all feel their pain. For example, in the 1980s, when Africa was suffering from droughts and famines, many Jews around the world learned for the first time about the Beta Israel, the Jews of Ethiopia. Their religion, race and culture are quite different from ours, and we had not even known that they existed before the famine. And yet, our hearts went out to them as our fellow Jews during this period of famine, like distant cousins we had never met, and Jews from around the world helped them to emigrate to Israel.

When a member of our "family" does something illegal, immoral or shameful, we all feel the shame, and we all feel that it reflects on us. As Jews, many of us were embarrassed by the scandals of Monica Lewinsky, Jack Abramoff and Bernie Madoff, because they are Jews and their actions reflect on us all, even though we disapprove. The Madoff scandal was all the more embarassing, because so many of his victims were Jews and Jewish charities: a Jew robbing from our own "family"! We were shocked when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was killed by a Jew, unable to believe that one Jew would ever kill another member of the "family."

And when a member of our "family" accomplishes something significant, we all feel proud. A perfect example of Jews (even completely secular ones) delighting in the accomplishments of our fellow Jews is the perennial popularity of Adam Sandler's Chanukkah songs, listing famous people who are Jewish. We all take pride in scientists like Albert Einstein or political leaders like Joe Lieberman (we don't all agree with his politics or his religious views, but we were all proud to see him on a national ticket). And is there a Jew who doesn't know (or at least feel pride upon learning) that Sandy Koufax declined to pitch in a World Series game that fell on Yom Kippur?

© Copyright 5761-5766 (2001-2006), Tracey R Rich

[AlexLl]

dude...who cares?

[MellowTones]

Judaism is NOT A RACE. Judaism is the religion, but there are many African/Caucasian/Hispanic and Arab Jews.

Judaism is the Religion, HEBREW is the race you are thinking of. Hebrews can be any religion as well, but they are predominantly Jewish.

Anyone can convert to Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, and each house of worship has its own rules for how to do so. Catholicism is a very lengthy conversion too... The convert needs baptism, penance, communion, and Confirmation before they are recognized as a Catholic by the Church.

[PadmaBee]

It's more an ethnicity than a race. There are non-convert Jews of all races.

[bensonandhedges]

Jew is a race.

your reasoning is correct.