Aren't there such a thing as Ethnic Jews?

Question

Many people responded to my last question disregarding the part where I stated "I am not religious." If my parents were Jewish, am I an ethnic Jew? Or is there even such a thing?

Answer 1

An "ethnic" Jew is one whose genetic ancestry is all or mostly Semite, who traces their lineage back to the Israelites of old, even unto Abraham.

A "religious" Jew is anyone of any ethnicity who accepts and practices the Jewish faith.

Answer 2

Sure there are, but people who use the term usually are trying to use it in a deceptive way. Not always, but more often than not....
Example: Calling the father of Communism "Jewish" because he MIGHT have had a Jewish ancestor. The entire concept of "Jews for Jesus" implying that an "Ethnic Jew" is the same thing as a religious Jew.. (the fact that they also imply that the Baptists who were put in as ringers in the first place are Jewish because they changed their names to "Jewish " names, and bought a few things at a Jewish bookstore to look more "genuinely Jewish" is a whole different story) And of course, there are tons of other examples, but that's not the point.. it's not what you are, it's how you use it, or let it be used, that really matters..

Answer 3

Yes there are ethnic Jews. The problem with finding credibility in that is that there have been several diasporas of the Jewish people throughout history. There are Ethiopian Jews, Yoruba Jews, Asian Jews, German Jews, and the list continues. But they aren't all necessarily so by religious standards but by their ethnicity.

Answer 4

That's exactly what I consider myself. Both my parents are Jewish, yet I don't really have a religiong. But I still consider my myself Jewish in some sense.