Jewish Social Life and Customs

A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism. Being a Jew is not a matter of belief. According to Jewish law, even if a person believes everything that Orthodox Jews believe and observes every law and custom of Judaism, he or she is not considered a Jew unless he or she meets the requirement of a Jewish mother or formal conversion. A person born to a Jewish mother who is atheist and does not practice the Jewish religion is still a Jew. In this sense, being Jewish is more like a nationality than a religion.