Monday, June 11, 2007
Judaism: Nation or Religion
The Jewish people are a group I find fascinating in a way. There are so many different kinds of Jews. First, there are the Orthodox Jews. These are the most conservative of the Jewish sects. They attempt to follow the Jewish practices as exactly as they can. Then there are the Reform Jews. These have “reformed” the Jewish religion so that it may be followed without having so many restrictions as the Orthodox Jews must maintain. This group is very liberal compared to their Orthodox counterparts. The Conservative Jews are a sect which creates a happy medium between the two extreme sects.
It seems quite odd to me that so many Jews in America don’t really care about their beliefs yet claim to be Jewish. Many celebrate Hanukah and Passover, yet the fail to understand the importance of their God. They discard their religion yet keep the label of Jew on them. To me, this seems somewhat wrong. The Jews are a nation, though, so it is understandable that they remain Jewish in name. It is really just no different than people who grow up in a Christian household and say that they are Christian, yet their lifestyle is completely secular. For example, I once had a Jewish friend whose mother said that they didn’t really believe in Hell, but they believed in the Old Testament. I understand that many people in America are ignorant on some level, but its people like this that just make their religions look bad. It would be better if they just said, “Yeah, we don’t really care” than if they proclaim to the world that they follow a faith which they do not understand at all.