but judaism to me is a religion and not really cultural. i know most jews, especially secular ones feel differently and feel a cultural connection and identify judaism as a religion and even an ethnicity. it's funny, after going on the ver first birthright trip in college in 2000, after i got back my belief in god and feelings about religion and judaism waned. some of it is my feelings about the palestinian/israeli conflict. Israel's actions have disgusted me for some time and I really don't consider myself a zionist. At this point, there should be dual statehood. So, Israel has turned me off a lot...and honestly, I live in Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago, grew up with a friend that was ultra-orthodox and that community just really bugs me. The insular and often close-mindedness of the ultra-orthodox community really angers me at times. I know it's not fair to make a blanket statement but I'm not a big fan of the orthodox. Shit, let's even look at the ultra-orthodox in Mea Sharim in Jerusalem and see how they feel about jews in the US.

i no longer believe in religion and don't think judaism is something that cultural so i have a hard time saying i'm jewish. i don't really know what to say. i'm agnostic in my approach to god but that's where it ends. my wife and i got married last July and did not have a religious ceremony. We had a friend get ordained online to marry us. my wife is technically jewish because her mother is jewish and her dad is half, and she called her grandma, bubby, but other than that grew up celebrating christmas. my sister-in-law considers herself jewish but was raised the same and did not have a bat mitzvah.