WHY JEWS ARE OFTEN CONFUSED ABOUT THEIR IDENTITY
Most Jews are confused about their identity and have a difficult time defining or describing themselves, since the term Jewish is used to define both the establishment religion and the people. That’s why when someone says they are Jewish it’s not clear if they are talking about their religious beliefs or their ethnicity. Others don’t have this problem. You can be Chinese and Buddhist, or Chinese and Confucianist. But being Jewish and Jewish is confusing. Besides, throughout history, there have always been a multitude of belief systems among the Jewish people, as there are now.
CONSEQUENCES OF THIS CONFUSION
Since many Jews are not taught how to explain or articulate their personal philosophy of life, they frequently will answer a question about their identity by explaining what they are not. They will say “I’m Jewish, but not religious.” Or “I’m Jewish but just culturally”. But that last statement would be largely meaningless since among Jews there are many cultures and ethnicities, including Sephardim, Persians, Ethiopians, and Ashkenazim. In reality, being Jewish means being part of the Jewish people or nation – or an “Am” as the Bible describes it.
Thus, it is no surprise that Orthodox Jews do not require a belief test to be Jewish. For them you are Jewish by matrilineal descent - a national or ethnic test.
IDENTIFICATION CATEGORIES
There are many ways to identify oneself. Surveys frequently mix up ethnicity and religion, and rarely have the correct choices. So here is my solution as it applies to me:
1. Race I am white.
2. Citizenship I am a U.S. citizen. (And love my country)
3. Ethnic Background I am an Ashkenazic Jew*. (Though I particularly enjoy and appreciate Anglo-Saxon culture)
4. Nationality I am part of the Jewish people or Jewish nation.
5. Philosophy I am a Secular Humanistic Jew. www.shj.org
CONCLUSION
So instead of defining myself by what I am not, I define my Judaism by who I am and what I do believe. Specifically, I am part of the Jewish people. I have strong beliefs including that the power to solve problems comes from people and not the supernatural world. I believe that truth about the world is discovered using evidence and reason, not faith. So I am a Secular-Humanistic Jew. Others may define themselves as Orthodox Jews, Conservative Orthodox Jews, Reform Orthodox Jews, etc. In fact, the first Christians were mostly Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah. Similarly, there are Lubavitch Jews who believe that Menachem Mendel Schneerson was/is the Messiah.
I hope this helps others better articulate their identity and beliefs. The key point is to recognize that there are many categories of personal identification, and philosophy or ideology are not necessarily the same for everyone within an ethnic group or nationality.
*Definition: Jews who came from Eastern Europe and Russia are called Ashkenazim.
The name Ashkenaz was first used in the Middle Ages for Jews living along the Rhine River in northern France and western Germany. Many of these Jews later migrated eastward and formed communities in Germany, Poland, Austria, Eastern Europe and Russia between the 10th and 19th centuries. Ashkenazic Jews developed their own language, Yiddish, by combining Hebrew with German. Likewise, they developed a distinct culture by combining Jewish culture with the culture of the countries in which they lived.
The great majority of North American Jews today are Ashkenazic Jews. (From about.com)
