Reply to Judaism is a religion, not a race.

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[quote=Anonymous]English words often have more than one meaning.  I'm a Jew by birth, by self-image, and in the eyes of most people who look at me.  But I am an agnostic/atheist who pays no attention to religious doctrine.  A religious Jew might not consider me a Jew, but most other people would.

If a person converts, or is from an unusual (Ethiopian, say) background, they are much more Jewish than I am in many ways.  But in terms of what the word Jewish means to most Americans, I am probably a better fit.

As to the question of race, that's another word with fuzzy meaning.  It would probably be a good thing for our society if we could expunge the word, but the concept is so deeply imbedded in our minds that it is probably impossible to do away with.

In any case, the phrase "Jewish race" is closely associated with Hitler and his attempt to annihilate all Jews.  Using it risks offending listeners and/or raising the question of whether the speaker is anti-semitic.  Note: I'm pretty old, and perhaps WWII is far enough in the past that this is no longer true?? [/quote]

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