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Jewish atheism[1] is the atheism of people who are ethnically and (at least to some extent) culturally Jewish.
"Jewish atheism" is not a contradiction[2] because Jewish identity encompasses not only religious components but also ethnic and cultural ones. Jewish law's emphasis on descent through the mother means that even religiously conservative Orthodox Jewish authorities would accept an atheist born to a Jewish mother as fully Jewish.[3]
Jewish secularism, which describes Jews who do not explicitly reject God's existence but also do not believe it is an important part of their Jewishness, has a long tradition in the United States.[4] A 2013 study by the Pew Research Center found that 62% of self-described American Jews say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, while just 15% say it is mainly a matter of religion. Even among Jews by religion, 55% say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, while 66% say it is not necessary to believe in God to be Jewish.[5]
- ^ de Lange, Nicholas Robert Michael (2000). An Introduction to Judaism (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 79–. ISBN 0521466245.
- ^ Мадорский, Лев (April 23, 2022). "Евреи-атеисты(Jewish-atheists)" (in Russian). Retrieved June 23, 2024.
- ^ "What Makes a Jew "Jewish"?". Chabad.org. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
- ^ Not in the Heavens: The Tradition of Jewish Secular Thought. David Biale. Princeton University Press, 2015, p. xii.
- ^ "A Portrait of Jewish Americans". Pew Research Center. October 1, 2013.