In response to my writing >> Surely it all depends on how the question is worded. If >> the survey asks what is the respondent's religion, then >> someone of Jewish descent who is an atheist has only >> one answer: Atheist.
Robin Abrahams wrote: > Not necessarily, which I believe is a politer way of saying, > "who the hell are you to determine how another person > defines themselves?". An atheist Jew might still not want > to deny his or her Jewishness, whether you think there's "only > one answer" they can give or not. Hell, you can BE an atheist >and still be a practicing Jew--it's not a belief-based religion, > like Christianity is. Robin: By all means say (politely or otherwise) who the hell am I to determine what is meant by religion, but please don't tell me that I'm trying tell another person how to define themselves. You may be getting angry with this thread (see below) but for the life of me I can't understand why, since everyone has been trying to respond thoughtfully, simply giving their opinion. Robin wrote: >I am getting so angry about this thread I can't see straight. >Understand that while it may seem easy to check the box "Atheist" >if that is what you are, it means denying that you are a Jew. and >And there is humanistic Judaism, as a movement and, I believe, even some >synagogues. And as I stated before, you can be an atheist/agnostic and a >RELIGIOUS Jew. Saying that they're mutually exclusive is interpreting Judaism >with a Christian, belief-based lens. Robin: I appreciate your point about a different way than mine at looking at the meaning of the term "religion", but I find it a little ironic that, having told me I'm telling other people how they identify themselves, you are now doing something equivalent. You state as if it is an indisputable fact that if someone of Jewish descent checks the box "Atheist" to a question about his/her religion, he/she is denying he/she is a Jew. I'm a secular Jew, and an atheist. If I'm asked to check a box for my religion, I check "Atheist". I am not thereby denying that I am a Jew, and please don't tell me I am. Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
