Jewish atheists and other atheists

[NickKIELCEPoland]

Jewish atheists and other atheists.
This question is about atheists who are ethnically Jewish.

This ethnic Jewishness -
is it...

a) about race only (ie. they are Jewish atheists, in the same way that there may be White atheists or Black atheists etc.)

or

b) it is about race and it is about values too.

c) it has nothing to do with race, only about values. (in other words, any atheist in the world could become Jewish without leaving atheism.)

If the answer is b or c, then I'd be grateful for elaboration as to what the values are, but that would be an act of good will on your part, and not expected in any way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
People like The Drunk Guy, who consider themselves Christian Atheists should bear in mind that with Christianity, race does not play any role, so if the answer is b) it is not quite the same situation.
I would consider my ethnicity as Christian despite my atheism.
http://www.discussionworldforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2999 (http://www.discussionworldforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2999)

[MeMyselfAndI]

Jewish atheists and other atheists.
This question is about atheists who are ethnically Jewish.

This ethnic Jewishness -
is it...

a) about race only (ie. they are Jewish atheists, in the same way that there may be White atheists or Black atheists etc.)

or

b) it is about race and it is about values too.

c) it has nothing to do with race, only about values. (in other words, any atheist in the world could become Jewish without leaving atheism.)

If the answer is b or c, then I'd be grateful for elaboration as to what the values are, but that would be an act of good will on your part, and not expected in any way.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
People like The Drunk Guy, who consider themselves Christian Atheists should bear in mind that with Christianity, race does not play any role, so if the answer is b) it is not quite the same situation.

http://www.discussionworldforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2999 (http://www.discussionworldforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2999)

You know... It is a very interesting question.

Back in 2004, Demoskop attempted to count exactly how many Evrei (Jews) there are in Russia. Estimates vary greately.

According to the 2002 Census, 230,000 people, of them 130,000 in Moscow, identified themselves as Evrei. However, most Jewish community leaders, rabbis, and others, say the number is actually greater. Due to the prevalence of antisemitic sentiment in many parts of Russia, many people of Jewish heritage quite possibly and understandably chose to list themselves as ethnic Russian, rather than Jews, and this is particularly common among those of mixed Russo-Jewish background. The most agreed number is 1,000,000 Russia Jews, half of those (500,000) living in the Moscow area.
http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2004/0175/lisa02.php/rossia01.php#4

Aleksandr Boroda, President of Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR)
http://www.aen.ru/photos/2008-06-25__2872.jpg
has even claimed that there are in fact 6 times as many people of Jewish heritage in Russia as was reflected in the Census.

The thing is, nobody knows how to define a evrei.

There are religious Jews. In my home, Arkhangelsk oblast, one prison camp, for example, apparently has enough religious Jewish prisoners that they saw fit to open a Jewish prayer room alongside the Orthodox Christian chapel
http://www.wcrj.org/bitrix/templates/wcrj_en_page/components/bitrix/news.list/news_line/12_l.jpg

Many Russian Jews now come together less on basis of faith or even ethnic ties; but more so around ideological Zionism
http://betar.org.ua/uploads/posts/2009-01/1231758972_3.jpgThey stage pro-Israel demonstrations, like this one.

Some organise private, at-home religious study groups
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5466/katzin41.jpgHowever, most Russian Jews have grown up without their faith, and only now, in these groups, they are trying to understand it.

Most Jewish families are small, one or two children
http://www.elitat.ru/one/1196/1278911129.jpg

However, their birth rate has increased lately, especially among the more religious kind
http://samara-photo.ru/images/45e1ec9357af8.jpg

However, there is one other point to be made. There are people in Russia, millions of them, who really have nothing to do with Judaism; Zionism; Israel; FEOR; or anything of that sort. But they do have family names like Rabinovich or Katz or Mendelson. On the surface, they are typical Russians, they may drink vodka like the worst of us, go to the banya on sundays, etc. But, nonetheless, they are often considered evrei, simply because of the name. Like my good friend Misha (Mikhail) Shteinberg. Aside from the fact that he is Shteinberg, if one did not know that, one would think he is Ivanov :lol: Once, a group of us were on vacation in a village; he drank a whole bucket of samogon (homemade vodka). What Jew can do that? :shrug::rofl:

That, Nick, is a ethnic Jewish atheist. At best. :lol:

[Michael]

Jewish atheists and other atheists.
This question is about atheists who are ethnically Jewish.
Is there any other kind? :ummm:

The only 'religious' Jews I know of wear all black with really bad hairdo's and live in places like NY, Montreal and Jerusalem.

All the rest seem to be atheists. :lol:

[Non Sequitur]

Is there any other kind? :ummm:

The only 'religious' Jews I know of wear all black with really bad hairdo's and live in places like NY, Montreal and Jerusalem.

All the rest seem to be atheists. :lol:

you obviously need to come to Bexley, Ohio

[Donkey]

you obviously need to come to Bexley, Ohio

Or the outer east suburbs of Cleveland.

[Michael]

you obviously need to come to Bexley, Ohio

Or the outer east suburbs of Cleveland.

Okay, so Ohio is a hotbed of Judaism. Who knew? :shrug:

I'll admit I was being a bit facetious on this issue, but seriously, every Jew I know personally, is an atheist and I have met a fair number of them. Admittedly, Toronto is a pretty culturally secular kind of place to begin with and my social circle tends to skew that way, so I realize that my experiences may not be considered typical.

Indeed, I personally know more actual 'religious' Muslims ('caucasians' no less) than actual 'religious' Jews.

[Donkey]

Okay, so Ohio is a hotbed of Judaism. Who knew? :shrug:


I can't speak for Bexley, but Cleveland is a hotbed of earliest and mid 20th century European immigration, a lot of which was Jews (and Hungarians, and Serbians, and Poles, and Puerto Ricans, etc. etc.) Over the last fifty years the Jewish community for the most part relocated to the eastern suburbs.

[Michael]

I can't speak for Bexley, but Cleveland is a hotbed of earliest and mid 20th century European immigration, a lot of which was Jews (and Hungarians, and Serbians, and Poles, and Puerto Ricans, etc. etc.) Over the last fifty years the Jewish community for the most part relocated to the eastern suburbs.

Similarly, Toronto has a long history of immigration. Our early 20th century waves were mostly Italians, Greeks, Poles and Ukrainians (not many Jews - they went to Montreal). The Brits, Irish and Germans came here in the 19th century.

[MeMyselfAndI]

Indeed, I personally know more actual 'religious' Muslims ('caucasians' no less) than actual 'religious' Jews.

There are Chechens living in Canada??? :confused:

[Michael]

There are Chechens living in Canada??? :confused:

Caucasian is a standard/generic term for referring to 'white people'.

[Non Sequitur]

Okay, so Ohio is a hotbed of Judaism. Who knew? :shrug:

I'll admit I was being a bit facetious on this issue, but seriously, every Jew I know personally, is an atheist and I have met a fair number of them. Admittedly, Toronto is a pretty culturally secular kind of place to begin with and my social circle tends to skew that way, so I realize that my experiences may not be considered typical.

Indeed, I personally know more actual 'religious' Muslims ('caucasians' no less) than actual 'religious' Jews.

I don't know about the immigration, but there are at least 4 synagogues within walking distance of my seminary.