Are the Jews a race or religious group??

Question

I just want a firm base for a debate I have to have in debate class...

For this debate I need to draw a firm line between the two.. I need to argue the fact that they are a religious group; Called jews by their way of life. Not by the blood in their veins...

Answer 1

I thought they were both.

Answer 2

I've met someone recently who is enlightening me...
Race is biological. Nope. Too many countries, etc.
Religion? Well, there are certain values that persist, even for those who no longer observe.
So, basically, what you've got is a culture, an ethnicity. There are some strands of thinking that apparently are universal, even to the Ethiopian "lost tribe". They all converted!!! and there are still some key values.
I THINK but I am not sure, that one of the ones that applies to the converts also, is the notion that knowledge is the most valuable possession one can have.
The mother is the most important part of the family, because her job is to stay home with the kids and give them all the learning she can, and support them while they learn how to learn.
If there were a boat at sea, travelling to a new land, and there were undertakers, bakers, and candlestick makers, and a teacher, which is the one that everyone could rely upon if the others jumped ship? The teacher! Because that person could find a way to fill in for the missing members, and teach others to take their place.
And that, I BELIEVE, but ask around, is one of the themes that runs deeply within the culture. And yes, there are religious bases for it, but even those who do not follow it closely have learned the same thing.
Good luck!
And why and where are you debating this, anyway? I don't know that we could get away with that in Long Island!

Answer 3

Well, the point of debate class is that the issue will NEVER be resolved. My mom's a debate coach. I don't know if Yahoo answers counts as research, but whatever.

You could argue that it's a religious group because anyone can join at any point in his or her life. For example, a caucasion person can grow up in Minnesota and become Jewish later, by converting and joining the faith.

You could never do that with a race! Imagine a Hispanic person one day "converting" and becoming African American. Obviously it doesn't work like that. So I think there's a pretty solid argument that it's a religion.

P.S. Funny how no one else seems to understand how debate works.

Answer 4

Jews do not represent any one racial group and there are people who are considered jews who are not religious.

The closest thing to a jewish race is actually an ethnicity. The religious nature of judaism and xenophobia that immigrating jews were met with caused the formation of jewish communities within larger communities to which they immigrated. These people often married within the community though not always.

An example of this are the European jews. European jews, much to the dismay of the Nazis, have primarily European genes, and many of their ancestors had converted to judaism. Never the less, centuries of intermarriage has created ethnicities....that is, many European jews have similar features due relative, but not complete isolation from the non-jewish community around them. Some European jews do have genetic traces of middle eastern ancestry, however.

In Ethiopia there are black jews. The origin of Ethiopian jews is a hot topic of debate. Some say they were the "original" jews, some say they were a lost tribe of Israel, and some say they are the decendants of converts. There are also jews in India, Iran, Iraq, and other countries in the region, all sharing racial features with the surrounding non-jewish populations.

So a jew is not a race, we have just become accustom to thinking of ethnically jewish Europeans when we hear the word "jew"...many of whom, in reality, don't fit the description of what we think a European jew should even look like.

The bible does not tell us what Abraham looked like. He was probably somewhat in complexion and certainly wasn't European. He is not the biological father of all jews.....many in biblical times were converts. The bible, in th time of Esther, speaks of the jews as being "scattered", and also indicates that not everyone in one family ashered to one religion. Given the many different people in the region at the time, we can only assume that jews as a single race never existed, but it's safe to assume the first jews were semitic type or an African type of people.

Answer 5

Both. Here.

Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים, Yehudim; Yiddish: ייִדן, Yidn) are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people (also known as the Jewish nation, or the Children of Israel), an ethno-religious group descended from the ancient Israelites and from converts who joined their religion. The term also includes those who have undergone an officially recognized formal process of religious conversion to Judaism. Although the total number of Jews is difficult to measure and controversial, most authorities place the number between 12 and 14 million, the majority of whom live in the United States and Israel.

Blessings

David

Answer 6

you could desire to get remote from the anti-Semitic stereo-types, there is not any particular seem to Jews as their isn't any jewish race. The Ethiopian Jews are black, as are somewhat some the Moroccan and Yemenite Jews, and that they look thoroughly diverse to the white Jews from jap Europe, or the mediteranean Jews from Greace and Italy, or the Arab Jews from Iran, Iraq. Egypt, or the Jews who're descended from people who've by no ability left Israel and have been there for the final 4000 years, or the chinese language Jews, or the Indian Jews etc.

Answer 7

Jews are a religious group. Hitler referred to them as a race, and there may be some common trends in the bloodlines, but Judaism is a religion, Jews are people who practice Judaism, therefore, Jews are a religious group.

Some associate the Israelites with Jews, in which race might apply, but the two are separate entities.

Answer 8

Well its a race ...But thats the only race where u can see people od all colour..because people have a track of their ancestors..Like black jews from ethopia,Indian jews,European Jews so Jew is the only race with multicoloured people its not a religion which can be adopted u need to have it in ur blood.
Eg: the Jews in India came long time back when israel was attacked by king Nebuchadnezzar they flee in search of new place and landed in India where they were soldiers in different kings army..Thats why Jesus travelled to India in search of his lost sheep.To give them the message of God. And the same happened in the rest of the european countries. Now the Jews who landed in different countries started to look like the local people but actually they are Jews but may look different than the actual Jews u've seen in europe ..Eg: Bob Marley is a jew if u were aware of it but people are ignorant and judge people by their looks but the blood is same.So jew is something to do with the blood not the religion..
Now its been easy for people to adopt the religion but some years before u have to be a jew u cant convert. Same as Parsis in India who came from Iran hundreds of years back and now live in India no one can become parsi u have to have it in your blood to be the one..

Answer 9

both or either.

Jews are related biologically as a distinct ethnic group, because as a nomadic semitic desert tribe, they mostly took marriage partners from within the group. Race is a term that anthropologists aren't reallly using anymore.
They developed a unique culture and monotheistic priestly religion.
A Jew biologically may not practice the religion but still be culturally and secularly a Jew. A non ethnic Jew may convert to Judaism.

Answer 10

Both.
Although...
You could argue that there are Jews from all over the world, not just the typical image of a "Jew" that might come to mind. There are Ethiopian Jews (black), Jews in India (Asian), Russian Jews, Eastern European jews... many different "races", so it really depends.

Answer 11

Really to answer your question we have to lie to ourselves. Yes Judaism is a religion but when it comes to race... Race is just a non-existant thing that we have made so we can say "-insert your race here- are better than -insert race of enemy here-" when really when you go really deep down we are squishy and weird looking.