is Judaism considered a religion or a race?

Question

what i mean is... r jews a race or religion?

Answer 1

It wasn't considered a race until Hitler.

Answer 2

Religion

Answer 3

It is a religion and a nationality -- definitely NOT a race. The idea of a Jewish race stems from the Roman Catholic Inquisition when anyone who had Jewish grandparents (blood) were executed if they would not convert to Christianity. Some Jews were lucky and were only expelled to other countries -- i.e. the Spanish Inquisition in 1492 when all the Jews were expelled from Spain. It wasn't until the 20th century that converted Jews could serve in the Roman Catholic clergy.

IMHO it is a nation of people with a common language and traditions working together as one community to bring peace on earth.

Shalom

Answer 4

Judaism is a religion.

However, because Jews (the followers of Judaism) don't actively recruit converts and pretty much haven't intermarried with non-Jews for thousands of years, a sort of cultural Darwinism "race" has evolved with certain physical characteristics more dominant and common in Jews.

Some Jews do not accept converts as true Jews because of the heritage issue.

Answer 5

Judaism is a religion. Jews are a people who follow Judaism

Answer 6

The word Judaism denotes the entire race (I prefer the word 'people) of Jews, whether they are practicing their religion or not.

Answer 7

Judaism is the religion...and Jews are the race.

Answer 8

Perhaps the Jews are not a race, but genetics seem to matter to the Israelis

Answer 9

its a religion, but some people have it in there minds that they are a race. There mostly european who converted to judaism a long long time ago. So they are not even really god's so called chosen people.

Answer 10

In this country, it's actually considered to be both! Judaism came from the Hebrew people from the Judean regions of what is now Israel. But because it was also the name of their faith, it was considered to be a religion as well.

Answer 11

I talked to an theist Israelian a few weeks ago.

Before I talked to him, I thought that in middle-east, there mainly is one People = Arabs, and some of them are muslim, some are jewish.

I asked that Israelian if he was an arab (people, ethny), and he said "no", that actually, in his view, Jews are an ethny in itself.

I thought it was just a question of religion, but it seems a bit more subtile.

There would be 2 different ethnies: Arabs (who tend to be muslim if they choose religion) and Jews (who tend to be jewish if they choose a religion).

So, according to that Israelian, there are jewish Jews, atheistic Jews.

Jews = ethny
Jewish = religion.

A Jew is not necessarily jewish.