[Shirl]

Why do people of the Jewish faith identify themselves primarily as Jewish? For example, I am of the Baptist faith but identify myself as an American of Italian descent.

User Detail :  

Name : Shirl, Gender : F, City : Tallahassee, State : FL Country : United States, 

[Stacey L.]

There are several reasons for this. One is that Judaism is not just a religion, but also a culture, with its own traditions, foods, etc. Another reason I remember being given in religious school is that, throughout history, Jews have often not been considered to be true members of the society in which they lived. For example, a Jewish person who lived in Russia years ago but was the recipient of constant prejudice by the government would be more likely to choose to identify himself as Jewish than as Russian. However, there are also Jewish people who object to Judaism being referred to as a culture and identify themselves primarily as Russian, German, etc.

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Name : Stacey L., Gender : F, Age : 20, City : Durham, State : NH Country : United States, Occupation : student, 

[C19195]

At the risk of sounding simplistic, perhaps it is because that's how others perceive us. Jews for generations have had difficulty convincing the religious majority of whatever country we've lived in that we, too, are as patriotic as they. Recall the proud veterans of World War I who were astonished to learn that Hitler's government did not consider them German because they were Jewish as well. Also recall the Dreyfus Affair, in which religion was perceived to have trumped national origin and ethnicity. A notable exception is Denmark, where Danes have been known to dismiss praise for their conduct aiding Jews during World War II, noting that what they did was done for fellow Danes.

User Detail :  

Name : C19195, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 30ish, City : Austin, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Josh29132]

In my view, there are a few related reasons. First, most Jews in the United States are descended from people who bounced around from one country to another in Europe, so we did not necessarily stay in one country long enough to identify with a particular nationality. Second, anti-Semitism was and is very pervasive in the world (especially Europe), so why would we identify with a country that treated our ancestors so horribly that we fled to the United States in such great numbers?

Related to the above, in my case, all four of my granparents' families lived in four different countries before coming to the United States. How many hyphens should one have in his identity? I'd say at most one. Therefore, I am very proud to call myself an American, as I live in a country that has the unusual trait of providing opportunity to people of all backgrounds.

User Detail :  

Name : Josh29132, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Jewish, Age : 35, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Josh29133]

In my view, there are a few related reasons. First, Most Jews see Judaism as a culture in addition to a religion - we see ourselves as a People reagardless of any ethnic or racial differences. I do not believe that Christian religions intend to be a culture as well as a religion. Secondly, most Jews in the US are descended from people who bounced around from one country to another in Europe so we did not necessarily stay in one country long enough to identify with a particular nationality. Thirdly, the reason for the aforementioned fact is that anti-Semitism was and is so pervasive in the world (especially Europe), why would we identify with a country that treated our ancestors so horribly that we fled to the US in such great numbers? Related to the above, in my case, all 4 of my granparents' families lived in 4 different countries before coming to the US. How many hyphens should one have in his identity? I'd say at most one. Therefore, I am very proud to call myself an American as I live in a country that has the unusual trait of providing opportunity to people of all backgrounds.

User Detail :  

Name : Josh29133, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Jewish, Age : 35, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[A-Urbonas]

Jewish people take great pride in their heritage, which goes back 5000+ years. I can only think of the Chinese as another ethnic group that can claim to have a heritage that goes back several millenia.(There may be others, but they are few and far between.) That is why people identify themselves first of all as Jewish.

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Name : A-Urbonas, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, City : Edmonton, Alberta, State : NA Country : Canada, 

[JerryS]

Judaism is primarily inherited, and has always been associated with a people (race) as well as a religion. Furthermore, historically non-Jews and governments have identified people with Jewish ancestry as Jewish regardless of their religion, if any.

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Name : JerryS, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : New Britain, State : CT Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Emily25364]

I think this is because Judaism is more than just a religious affilitation, it is also an ethnicity. For example, my mother's ancestors came from Belarus (part of Russia at the time), but they were not Russian, they were Jewish. I saw an immigration manifest that listed such people as having 'Hebrew' nationality, even though there was no Israel at the time. Despite living in Europe for centuries and centuries, these people were aware that they originated from the Middle East and the Jewish culture. For people living in the United States today who identify as Jewish, this may be an ethnic identity, a religious one, or both. A person may refer to him or herself as Jewish even if not practicing the faith actively. Just like you identify as 'of Italian descent,' they are referring back to their origins.

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Name : Emily25364, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 26, City : Madison, State : WI Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Miriam Shoshannah]

Thousands of years of history are difficult to just put away in a drawer. The reason I think many Jews identify their ethnicity as Jewish rather than Russian/Polish/German is because for millenia Jews were not allowed to be citizens of the countries in which they lived. They were always seen by the ruling class as resident aliens who could be kicked out of the country at the whim of the rulers. For many years Jews in Russia and parts of Poland were forced to lived in an area called the Pale of the Settlement (if you have seen the movie Fiddler on the Roof they lived in a shtetl [Jewish village] in the Pale of the Settlement). Jews had to have special permission to travel to Moscow. Anytime the Czar wanted to divert the attention of Russian citizens from their own suffering he would encourage the Russian peasants to have a pogrom (riot) on the Jewish villages. Even as recently as the late 19th Century, in many European countries the only way a Jew could become a full citizen of the country in which he/she lived was to convert to Christianity. This was particularly true in Germany; thus that is why Heine, Mendelsohn and others converted to Christianity. I don't know if that answers your question but I hope it helps in some small way.

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Name : Miriam Shoshannah, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Jewish, Age : 39, City : St. Louis, State : MO Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Jessica]

Technically, to be of the Jewish faith, your mother must be Hebrew, which is considered by my Jewish friends a race rather than a religion. The Hebrew people were the chosen people of Jehovah to take Canaan and a variety of other things.

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Name : Jessica, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 23, City : Huntsville, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[tanya]

Being Jewish can be 3 different things. You can be Jewish by faith, Jewish by race, and Jewish by faith and race. 1. I can be an Asian person but Jewish by faith. 2. I can be Jewish by race/culture. For example, I am from Israel and practice all of the cultural dynamics (language, food, dance etc) 3. I can be Jewish by race and faith which incorporates both #1 and #2. Being Jewish is different from most religious groups because biblically Jewish people are an ethinic group. This is different from let's say Baptist because 'Babtist' are not an ethnic group. Tanya

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Name : tanya, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian/white, Religion : Christian, Age : 21, City : colorado springs, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : sales, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[tkutlow]

As a Jew I frequently wonder about this myself. I personally think of myslelf as a white american male first and a Jew second. But I believe its due to the fact that the American Jews are organized as one voice and as a group are a political factor that must be acknowledged. There are other factors that contribute to this solidarity such as antisemitism (you rarely hear about antibaptists on the 5 o'clock news) and the fact that there exists a Jewish state i.e. Israel.

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Name : tkutlow, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 34, City : South Orange, State : NJ Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Abraham]

Maybe because being Jewish is more than religion. It's also ancestry. DNA studies show Ashkenazi Jews, in spite of thousands of years of separation from Jews in the Middle East, are still more related to their Jewish brethren than Europeans. While Ashkenazi do have European admixture, they are genetically still a Middle Eastern people and the direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews. Jews identify as Jewish because that is our race as well as our religion.

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Name : Abraham, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Religion : Jewish, Age : 23, City : Hollywood, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[J]

Not all Jews identify with their religion more than their nationality, but like all minorities, I would bet that a large number do. A big part has to with what the American means to many people. To me and many I know, the stereotypical American drinks three beers a day, drives an SUV or pickup, has a weight problem, votes Republican, supports war, is irresponsible, is illiterate, takes cellphone calls in the movie theater, is rude, is racist, is violent, listens to country music, lives a completely unexamined life, and doesn't think for themselves. Why would I want to identify as an American? With the way our country is run right now, I'm thoroughly ashamed to be an American.

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Name : J, Gender : M, Age : 25, City : Oakland, State : CA Country : United States, 

[Laryssa]

While I am not religiously Jewish, my ethnic heritage is Jewish, just as yours is Italian. When people ask me what I am, I identify myself as Jewish (among other things), as these make up my ethnic identity. But I am forever explaining to people that I am not religiously Jewish. I think that most people do not know that Jewish is an ethnic identity as well as a religion.

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Name : Laryssa, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 28, City : San Diego, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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