Is jews a ethnic group or a religious group?

Answer 1

Answer 1

The term "Judaism" technically applies only to the religion followed by the Jewish people. Whether or not Jews constitute an ethnic group is a question that has kept many great minds busy for many years.

A look at the physical features of Jews from around the world will reveal very great variation. There are black Jews, there are Indian Jews, there are Oriental Jews, and Jews with hair and eyes of every colour - it is said that people with blonde hair and blue eyes make up a larger percentage of Israel's population than that of Sweden. So it seems that Jews cannot be termed an ethnic group.

What's more, many people convert to Judaism. Somebody who does so is commonly known as a ger or a "Jew by choice." (It should be noted that Jewish law is very clear on the fact that converts must never be considered "less of a Jew" than those born as Jews. A ger is, according to Talmudic law, every bit as much a Jew as someone born to a Jewish mother, which is traditionally the way that Judaism is passed from one generation to the next. Some Reform and all Progressive Jews also consider that somebody born to a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother is Jewish, too).

However, there is also a Jewish ethnicity shared by all those who have Jewish mitochondrial DNA. This has led to a general agreement that the Jews are an ethno-religious group, ie; a group that is defined as Jews by either ethnicity or religion, or both.

Answer 2

Judaism is defined as both a religion and an ethnicity. It's an ethnicity because Jews are descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives: Jews, despite their diversity, are related to each other (as has been shown by DNA analyses of far-flung Jewish communities). And it's a religion, because Judaism is defined as the religion of Moses; the religion of the Torah, which includes people born Jewish as well as converts.

Answer 2

Judaism is defined as both a religion and an ethnicity. It's an ethnicity because Jews are descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives: Jews, despite their diversity, are related to each other (as has been shown by DNA analyses of far-flung Jewish communities). And it's a religion, because Judaism is defined as the religion of Moses; the religion of the Torah, which includes people born Jewish as well as converts.

Answer 3

The answers to this vary.

Some people argue that yes, "Jewish" is an ethnicity, a division of the Semitic race, as well as a religious adjective.

Others argue that Jewish is not an ethnicity, it is onlya religious adjective.

Many people hold to the latter opinion.

Contrarily, the majority of Jews hold that Judaism is an ethno-religious group. This is to say that they are common ethnicity, as based in cultural norms and shared history, and that they have a common religion, in that they have a common understanding of the supernatural world.

Answer 4

In classical Jewish sources such as the Torah, the Israelites are spoken of as a nation (with shared ancestry), with Judaism being the national code of living.
Today, the term ethno-religious group is often used to describe the Jewish people. Jews have certain elements that are common to all ethnicities, such as a common language, particular customs of association, a shared history, and a common ancestry. Jews are descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives, from the Hebrews of the Fertile Crescent. Despite their diversity, Jews are related to each other (as has been demonstrated by DNA analyses of far-flung Jewish communities).
At the same time, Judaism is a religion, because it's defined in dictionaries as the religion of Moses; the religion of the Torah, which includes people born Jewish as well as non-ethnic Jews (converts).

It is worth noting that the term "ethno-religious group" is not unique to Jews; it just happens that Jews are more widely known than other such groups, which include the Yezidi, Druze, Maronites, and Yarsan.

See also:

Are Hebrews, Israelites and Jews the same people?

Answer 5

In classical Jewish sources such as the Torah, the Israelites are spoken of as a nation (with shared ancestry), with Judaism being the national code of living.
Today, the term ethno-religious group is often used to describe the Jewish people. Jews have certain elements that are common to all ethnicities, such as a common language, particular customs of association, a shared history, and a common ancestry. Jews are descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives, from the Hebrews of the Fertile Crescent. Despite their diversity, Jews are related to each other (as has been demonstrated by DNA analyses of far-flung Jewish communities).
At the same time, Judaism is a religion, because it's defined in dictionaries as the religion of Moses; the religion of the Torah, which includes people born Jewish as well as non-ethnic Jews (converts).

It is worth noting that the term "ethno-religious group" is not unique to Jews; it just happens that Jews are more widely known than other such groups, which include the Yezidi, Druze, Maronites, and Yarsan.

See also:

Are Hebrews, Israelites and Jews the same people?

Answer 6

Yes. The Majority of Jews are born into the Religion, though Judaism does accept converts.

Answer 7

Here's one definition of an ethnic group: "people who identify with each other, for example, on the basis of such things as a common language, ancestry, history, society, culture, nation, race." Jews identify with each other, Jews share a liturgical language (Hebrew), a history, a religious and literary culture and a sense of nationhood (I'm not talking of the modern nation of Israel, but the older sense of shared national identity). Notice, the definition of an ethnic group is not necessarily based on ancestry, nor does the definition rule out ethnic groups that have one or another kind of conversion or adoption ritual. Conversion to Judaism is possible but rare enough that most Jews have ancestral connections to other Jews.