fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2946 ]

[ SECRET POST #2946 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2946 ⌋

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I find it really annoying that no one understands me when I say I'm Jewish but not by religion. I know that it's a cultural thing and that being irked by it is silly, but I'm used to having an easy way of explaining my connection to Jewish culture. And it just seems so ridiculous that there's no clear distinction between "Jewish" as an ethnicity and "Jewish" as a religion. And some people find the idea that there should be a distinction outright foreign.

"Unobservant" is the word you are looking for, I think. Should put them off.

I also happen to be firmly atheistic, so this may be kind of misleading in that it'll create an impression that I don't really care either way.

There are really that many people who don't understand that? I know a lot of atheist Jews. It's not some obscure thing.

A lot of people can't understand why someone would identify as Jewish when they don't practice Judaism. I guess it's because the Eastern European Jewish culture is really very different from its Western counterpart. Where I come from, religion hardly figures in the equation when one decides to call themselves a Jew.

If it makes you feel any better, one of my best friends is Jewish by ancestry. I still kind of have a hard time separating it from religion, but I believe her when she tells me it doesn't have anything to do with faith.

I see how it might look a bit strange in communities where being Jewish is very closely associated with practicing Judaism, but in fact, none of my Jewish relatives are actually religious. Some of my ancestors were, but I never knew any of these. Prior to my moving to the UK, it never occurred to me that there should be a link, so I'm sort of in the exact opposite of your situation.

Are you Ashkenazi? If you are, let them know it is considered its own ethnic group, regardless of religious orientation.

Yes! Oh, right, this may actually be helpful. I've never thought this was exclusive to Ashkenazim, so I just assumed my problem was some sort of weird mentality clash.

Yeah, people tend to see Judaism as strictly a religion, but there are ethnic groups attached to it. (I picked Ashkenazi as that tends to be the most common /Ashkenazi as well!)

I see. Sorry, I was a bit confused - I'm not really sure how these things work in other Jewish communities. But using "Ashkenazi" instead of just "Jew" makes sense, and I think it'd save me some time and effort!

Are you ethnically Jewish? Or culturally Jewish? Because you could maybe clarify that way. "I'm ethnically/culturally Jewish, but not religiously."

That's basically how I've always explained it, but apparently people have trouble understanding why an ethnically Jewish person would call themselves a Jew unless they also practice Judaism.

I always get a bit confused on what ethnically constitutes a Jew. Outside of actual Jewish dogma, like the whole "it can only be passed from the mother!" stuff. like, it is an actual ethnicity, right? So it's not really different from saying you're an Arab but not a Muslim... or something...

I always thought that Jewish can mean both practicing a religion and belonging to a people, and it's kind of up to you how you combine that--or don't.

I have gotten lectured several times about how "Jewish" is ONLY a religion. Mostly in conversation where someone (not me, believe it or not) started saying person X "looks Jewish" and the Jewish person in the group flared up saying it's not an ethnicity, it's a religion, and you can't "look" a religion.

But this is middle class, white-bread Amurrka. Kinda nice to know she was losing her shit over something silly and was wrong, though.

Haha, oh boy. "Jewish" is most definitely an ethnic group, well, a few actually. It carries it's own facial traits/genetic defects/diseases, too.

Really? I get what you mean right away, maybe because I've had Jewish friends who did not observe Jewish customs most of the time.

because saying that distinction should exist is kind of the opposite of what Judaism has been traditionally since its inception. You're trying to apply modern social mores and Western liberalism to something which /really/ isn't.

In Judaism, "being nice to your friend" is a religious law. "Not stealing", "not cheating", "not saying nasty stuff about people behind their backs", "paying people on time" etc. are religious laws the same way "keep the sabbath" is. There is no distinction.
Judaism is a tribal religion, from a part of the world where tribes and family groups are still very strong and part of the underlying mentality. So that means you're part of the tribe, and these are the tribe laws. You can choose not to keep the laws, but that doesn't change the basic trappings of the system.
In a sense, Judaism is not even a religion the same way Christianity is.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2946 ]

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