Can a person be ethnically Jewish but practice another religion or be secular?

1. Why scholars say Jewishness can be an ethnicity, not only a faith — the academic framing that changes the question

Scholars frame Jewish identity as a multi-dimensional phenomenon that spans ethnic, cultural, national, and religious elements, a conceptual move central to works like Zvi Gitelman’s Religion or Ethnicity? and related analyses; this framing undercuts the assumption that Jewishness is only a matter of religious belief and opens the possibility that ancestry or shared culture suffices for ethnic Jewish identity ^[1]. Reference summaries and academic overviews confirm that many Jews identify primarily in secular or cultural ways, and that modern Jewish studies treat ethnicity and religion as analytically distinct even when they overlap in practice. This scholarly distinction has policy and social implications because when Jewishness is treated as ethnicity, it permits people of Jewish descent who practice other religions or none to still be described as Jewish in demographic, historical, and cultural studies ^{[5] [6]}.

2. What mainstream reference sources report today — statistics, categories, and the spread of secular Jewish identity

Major reference sources and encyclopedic entries describe Jews as an ethnoreligious group and note that while many adhere to Judaism, significant minorities identify as irreligious, atheist, or culturally Jewish; these entries contextualize Jewish secularism as a widespread, historically rooted phenomenon rather than a marginal exception ^{[2] [3]}. Recent summaries from 2024 and 2025 underline that contemporary Jewish identity includes cultural practices, language, ancestry, and communal memory alongside religious observance, and surveys cited in these sources document diverse self-identifications among people of Jewish descent. The practical effect is that demographic counts and cultural institutions often recognize the difference between being religiously Jewish and being ethnically or culturally Jewish ^{[3] [4]}.

3. Legal, communal, and religious tensions — when labels matter for membership and rights

The separation of ethnic and religious Jewish identity produces contested boundaries: religious authorities, communal bodies, and states sometimes apply different criteria for who is Jewish. Rabbinic law (halacha) traditionally emphasizes matrilineal descent or conversion, while secular and civil definitions can privilege ancestry or self-identification; this divergence generates disputes over marriage, communal membership, immigration, and recognition ^{[1] [7]}. Recent discussions recorded in 2024–2025 sources highlight how disputes over conversion standards, who counts for immigration to Israel, and institutional membership reflect competing agendas: religious authorities often defend doctrinal criteria, whereas civil or cultural institutions may emphasize ancestry and personal identity as determinative ^{[4] [7]}.

4. Everyday reality and lived identities — mixed practice, conversion, and cultural Jewishness on the ground

On the ground, many individuals of Jewish ancestry practice other religions, intermarry, or describe themselves as secular, cultural, or nonreligious Jews; conversion into other faiths does not erase ethnic or familial ties in social and historical senses, and descendants commonly retain aspects of Jewish cultural identity even after religious change. Empirical sources discussed in 2024–2025 show varied personal narratives: some people emphasize heritage and community memory over ritual observance, while others navigate dual identities shaped by family history, marriage, or secular upbringing ^{[6] [8]}. These lived experiences illustrate that identity is negotiated, not simply declared, and that multiple legitimate forms of Jewish identity coexist in societies around the world ^{[5] [9]}.

5. What to watch next — policy, communal definitions, and the unfinished debates

Debates will continue as states, diasporic communities, and religious authorities refine definitions for legal and communal purposes; expect ongoing disputes about conversion standards, who qualifies for communal benefits, and how demographics classify Jews. Sources from 2024–2025 document both the persistence of secular Jewish identity and renewed controversies over membership rules, suggesting that while the academic consensus supports distinguishing ethnic from religious Jewishness, practical and political questions will persist where definitions carry material consequences ^{[4] [9]}. Observers should watch institutional rulings and legislation that translate academic categories into policy, because those decisions will determine whether ethnic Jewish identity is formally recognized independent of religious practice in specific contexts ^[3].