Is a Jew who converts to another religion still considered Jewish?

Question

Just wondering.

To the people who say that Christianity "completes" Judaism, please don't. It's very judgemental and disrespectful to assume one religion is superior to another.

I like Nietzsche, but thanks anyway.

Answer 1

Bby Jewish law, once a Jew, always Jew- whether born or converted. Thus once a person is Jewish they are always judged by Jewish standards, and if they revert/convert to a different religion they are still considered Jewish by Jewish law. BUT, someone practising a religion other than Judaism is considered outside of the community, may not be a member of the community, receive any community honours, be a representative for the community, be buried in a Jewish cemetary, marry a Jew or be treated as a Jew for the purposes of the laws of mourning. However, since they never stop being a Jew- they merely have to repent, return to Judaism (and according to some opinions go to mikveh) in order to once again be a full member of the community.

And this applies regardless of what religion the person goes to. ANY Christian sect, be it Messianic Judaism, Jews for Jesus, Hebrew Christians or anything else- is NOT Judaism. Islam, while not considered as bad as Christianity is still completely forbidden to a Jew, as is any other religon from Askari to Zaroastianism (Heh- from A to Z....)

Answer 2

Sort of kind of.

In the case of the convert, if they convert away from Judaism it could be said that their conversion wasn't sincere, so no conversion took place, and there you go, not a Jew. It all depends on the circumstances and how that person's rabbi kind of sees it. On the other hand, once a Jew, always a Jew. (It is NOT genetics, as someone else said.) A convert is as Jewish as a born Jew, so by THAT logic, they're always Jewish.

Like I said, it depends on a lot of factors which way it goes.

Peace

Edit: yes I agree with Mark, it also depends on which religion that person is converting to.

*sigh* No, you cannot be a Xian and still be Jewish. That's like saying you can be Xian and pagan. It's ridiculous.

Answer 3

It's a bit more difficult than some of the answers so far. If, for example, you convert to Christianity--including the so-called "Messianic Jews" you become an apostate, a Jew in name (or birth) only. You become an outsider to the Jewish community and are not allowed to participate in the rituals within the Jewish faith.

Answer 4

Please ignore the absurd response by 'menome'. As a Jew I promise you, that a Jew who converts to Christianity, is a Christian. There is no such thing as a 'completed' Jew. The very term is an insult to Judaism.

Is Islam the 'completion' of Christianity? No? But it's the same logic!

I hope now you'll see why what MENOME says is such utter rubbish. Sorry to be so blunt but I am really fed up of SOME Christians on this site answering on behalf of Jews and then presenting Christian theology as though it's Judaism.

A Jew who converts to Christianity = a Christian.

A Jew who converts to Islam = a Muslim.

A Jew who converts to Scientology = a Scientologist.`

A Jew who converts to Buddhism = a Buddhist.

And by the same token, I should emphasize:

A 'messianic jew' = a Christian.

A 'completed jew' = a Christian.


Some people will tell you that a person who converts is still 'Jewish really, they are an ethnic Jew'.

Again, this is utterly illogical. There is no such thing as an 'ethnic Jew' because Jews come from ALL ethnic backgrounds. And in addition, can anyone name me ONE festival that is based on 'ethnic Judaism' as opposed to 'religious Judaism'? No - because there aren't any!

If a Jew converts, they leave Judaism. They have a Jewish heritage, because their mother is Jewish, but they themselves are an apostate. They are not recognised as Jewish by any synagogue, they cannot go to Israel under the Law Of Return, and so on.

If they want at some point to return to the Jewish community, they must speak to a Rabbi and with his help and guidance, they can return.

Sorry if my tone is sharp in response to your totally polite question, it's just that I keep reading answers written by Christians who claim to represent the Jewish viewpoint.

They don't.

MAMA BEAR and SEARCHER - shame on you. Stop presenting Christian belief as Jewish opinion.

Answer 5

-Nietzsche- overrated have you tried Maimonadies, nachmonadies, Rebbe nachman... If it is true, it has been said already by a rabbi. Plato-big thief. Anyways, if you are asking law and not made-up stuff for the comfort of the masses, here it is: sew on a foreskin, eat ham and swiss on rye on Passover or Yom Kippur, marry a gentile and become a minister, bow down to an idol that loos like Bill Gates, Ronald mcDonald or that turtle from the ninja turtles and you are still a Jew if your mom was or you converted orthodox, as converts have for 5000+ years. You don't have to convert back to Judaism, You don't have to study anything because you always were a Jew, one that will be quite embarressed in hte next world, but a Jew. Why? Just curious?

Answer 6

I don't think the Nazis sat up nights splitting hairs about "Who is a Jew?" . . . they figured if there was ANYONE in your family who was Jewish . . . so were you, and off to the camps you went.

That included thousands of Jews who had converted to either Catholicism or Protestantism.

The world still has pretty much the same mindset today.

Within Judaism, the apostate is still Jewish . . . he or she has just left the religion, but retains their Jewish identity to the end of their days . . . it's like you can run, but you can never hide from your heritage.

Answer 7

There are "ethnic" Jews and "observant" Jews. A person's ethnicity is determined by the mother. Also, the various branches of Judaism view "Jewishness" differently. An Orthodox for example tends to view genetics and heritage more, and the Reform movement views community participation and living "Jewishly" as important factors. Then again, I've heard the expression "once a Jew, always a Jew!"

Answer 8

The Torah provides no escape clause...hence, once a Jew, always a Jew. Now whether that Jew is a practicing Jew or is jewish (lower case, adjective) in any obvious way is another matter altogether....and one need not adopt another religion for that.

Answer 9

It depends on to what religion they convert. Biologically, they are still of the people of Isreal, but is that what is really important? If they abandon their faith, they are no longer a Jew.

It is possible to be both Jewish and Christian at the same time. If you will recall, it used to be a prerequisite! All of the first Christians were JEWS, and when the first Gentiles wanted to join their faith, oy vey, did they have problems! It took a visionary act of God to allow Gentiles to be saved--to follow the Jewish Messiah. I think too many people forget that, and a lot of THOSE people are Christians!

Christianity is NOT a Gentile religion. Christ was a Jew, the PERFECT Jew.

Now, can a Jewish person convert to, say, Buddhism or Rastafarianism, and still be considered Jewish? No. Those dogmas are completely opposed to the very concepts of Jewish theology.

Answer 10

Short answer "sort of, sometimes".

A person can't change his genetics and Judaism is passed from the mother. So in that sense, "yes."

But that simply defines the person as a genetic "Jew" -- that person very often cannot be considered "Jewish" that is, part of the community and able to fulfill certain roles within the community in ritual and observance.