Since Jews make up such a small minority of both the US and the world why is Judaism so much more a part of pop culture than more practiced religions and are always characters on children's shows?

Answer 1

Since the Holocaust, nations of the world are hyperaware of the presence of Jews. Also, since most American Jews are well-educated and a number are in film production, it stands to reason that some characters on children's shows about middle-class, well-educated children would be Jewish. Also, no one wants to discriminate against Jews by not having them on shows since this might me seen as antisemitic.

Even prior to the Holocaust, Judaism was incredibly pervasive relative to its size and this occurred for two main reasons. Firstly, in Europe, prior to the Reformation, they were the only group of people who operated outside of the Church, which made them the "Other" against which the "Saved" could compare themselves. In addition, since Judaism fathered Christianity, much of Christianity's early era was made up of Christians trying to distance themselves from Judaism. Similarly, Islam's early times were made up of Muslims explaining how they were not Jewish (since Islam resembles Judaism much more closely than Christianity even though it respects Jesus). Secondly, the Jews existed in numerous places and regions. Compared with Sikhs who today have roughly the same population, the Jews have populations in excess of 20,000 in 18 countries and smaller populations in over 70 more. The Sikh population is primarily concentrated in India, Pakistan, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The difference between Jews and Sikhs is not the uniqueness of their traditions, but that since Jews live in numerous places, many different people have seen them and heard of them.