Can you only have one religion?

[O Latin]

So I've been reading some of the snark about Lina (I think that's who) and her faux-Jewishness and it got me thinking about something.

When my siblings and I were kids, my mom liked to celebrate Hanukkah with us, even though we're not Jewish. I think it probably started as a way to teach us about different religions. We didn't do all eight nights. I think we would usually wait until the last night and light all the candles. She had a book she would read to us that explained the story of Hanukkah and then she would give us each a little gift. She kept doing this even after we grew up and sat there rolling our eyes and going, "Jeez, Mom, this is silly, we're missing [insert favorite TV show here]," so I assume it had some sort of personal meaning to her outside of teaching her children about Judaism.

So my question is, can a person only have one religion? If they call themselves a particular religion, do they have to reject everything that is not officially a part of that religion?

I wanted to say more, but my mom wants me to go to the store and then I have to go to The Church of the Holy Football Game. :dance:

[anniebgood]

So I've been reading some of the snark about Lina (I think that's who) and her faux-Jewishness and it got me thinking about something.

When my siblings and I were kids, my mom liked to celebrate Hanukkah with us, even though we're not Jewish. I think it probably started as a way to teach us about different religions. We didn't do all eight nights. I think we would usually wait until the last night and light all the candles. She had a book she would read to us that explained the story of Hanukkah and then she would give us each a little gift. She kept doing this even after we grew up and sat there rolling our eyes and going, "Jeez, Mom, this is silly, we're missing [insert favorite TV show here]," so I assume it had some sort of personal meaning to her outside of teaching her children about Judaism.

So my question is, can a person only have one religion? If they call themselves a particular religion, do they have to reject everything that is not officially a part of that religion?

I wanted to say more, but my mom wants me to go to the store and then I have to go to The Church of the Holy Football Game. :dance:

There are a lot of people who are in mixed marriages, i.e. Christian/Jewish and the one's I've known have celebrated holidays in both faiths.

I have a very good friend who's Jewish and is married to a Muslim. They agreed to raise their daughter with no definite faith and she could choose when she was old enough. His Muslim relatives have accepted her and they have made several visits to Iran to see them.

I too visit the Church of the Holy Football Game on Sundays much to my elderly mother's dismay. :dance:

[emmiedahl]

Most religions are mutually exclusive. An interfaith family might celebrate and expose children to both religions, but in the end, most will choose one of them over the other. I don't think there is anything wrong with celebrating another religion's holidays, as long as it is done in a respectful manner.

I have taken my kids to Diwali celebrations, for example, but I don't claim to be Hindu. I just show up and eat good food and light sparklers and have super fun with Indian people.

[Kitty]

There's quite a few people who mix 'n' match different religions. That's how you get "eclectic" Wicca. And "Christopagans" who mix Wicca with Jesus. Or Mary. Wicca's enough of a hodgepodge of Celtic custom and Greek/Egyptian mythology without trying to drag Christianity (or Islam!) into the mix. There are others who don't identify as any sort of Pagan or Wiccan, but mix the local folk religion with a more predominant religion.

I really don't miss my pagan days.

Most religions are mutually exclusive and even contradict each other, but I find it silly that that's supposed to mean people can't find truth or meaning in multiple religions and should reject that.

[devilsadvocate]

Borrowing traditions from other religions happens all the time - like a lot of the Christian holiday traditions that have pagan roots.

Your mom sounds like a Christian (I assume?) who happens to enjoy Jewish traditions, and that's fine in my book, but I wouldn't call her Jewish because of it.

[Hane]

I consider myself culturally Catholic, but religiously UU, as do about 60-70% of the people in the church I now attend.

[Lillybee]

There are people in Christian religions who also practice Buddism.

[Kelya]

I know a lot of people who hyphenate Quaker with the religion of their birth, like, "I'm a Quaker-Catholic" or "I'm a Quaker-Jew." Since Quakerism doesn't necessarily enforce the idea of Jesus as the Messiah (at least how its been practiced in my meetings), I think its easier to attach the whole philosophy to another religion and mix the two.

I do think there are some religions that openly conflict more than others and that melding them would be difficult. Any of the three Abrahamic religions are going to be tough. I think if you're raised Christian and Jewish, at some point you're probably going to lean one way or the other, since the whole Messiah thing, but that you can respectfully incorporate elements from the other side, especially if you're raised with both sets of traditions and have fond family experiences with them.

[O Latin]

Most religions are mutually exclusive and even contradict each other, but I find it silly that that's supposed to mean people can't find truth or meaning in multiple religions and should reject that.

This is what I was trying to say. I get that most religions are supposed to be the One True Answer To Life but if someone is able to find meaning in multiple different religious traditions, I don't see how that's "offensive" or anything else that the faux Jews are often accused of being. I understand that Judaism is sometimes seen as more of a culture you have to be born into rather than a religion you can join, but in general I don't think it's offensive to borrow from religions other than the one you officially claim to be.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

This is what I was trying to say. I get that most religions are supposed to be the One True Answer To Life but if someone is able to find meaning in multiple different religious traditions, I don't see how that's "offensive" or anything else that the faux Jews are often accused of being. I understand that Judaism is sometimes seen as more of a culture you have to be born into rather than a religion you can join, but in general I don't think it's offensive to borrow from religions other than the one you officially claim to be.

I think it's a lot like cultural borrowing (or cultural appropriation) and so a lot of the same issues and dividing lines are involved.

Among them - it makes a difference whether the culture being borrowed from is a minority culture in the region or not, it makes a difference if people have been oppressed for being of that culture or not.

It's also one thing to borrow or interpret (and thus possibly change) something from another group or culture and be upfront about what you're doing, saying you were inspired by it, or whatever it is. It's something else to borrow something from that other group or culture and then go into a forum where there aren't actual members of that group or culture and then claim to be of that group or culture yourself, or in some way an authority on it, where you set yourself up to be the all-knowing official interpreter for that group to your new audience of "noobs." It's the "well, *I* was able to go learn from the real deal but you have to learn from me" thing.

One step beyond that, it really rankles for someone to borrow or put on aspects of a culture they weren't raised in or learned naturally (which can happen late in life too!) and then turn around and claim that they do it BETTER than the original people, that somehow the original people are actually doing it wrong. In TV Tropes terms, it's like the cheesy drama script where some American guy goes to an isolated faraway romantic location, goes native, and ends up showing up the natives and saving the world because wow look, he's better at their culture than they are.

The "faux Jews" that get snarked on the hardest often come off as doing one or the other of those more irksome practices. It's not restricted to them (or to religion for that matter) either - goodness knows there's enough "fake Indian" stuff out there, for another good common example.

[Deleted12]

It seems to me that one of the challenges with discussing religion is that the one word (religion) can mean entirely different approaches to a faith.

For example, there are Christians who literally try to follow everything that the Bible says and who turn Christianity into something that is both a lifestyle and a faith; there are Christians who believe that Jesus died for them and who may practice pre-marital abstinence or be teetotallers but who are otherwise mainstream; there are Christians who go to church every week but follow Christianity as more of a philosophic tradition; and there are people who were raised Christian and who consider themselves Christian but they only celebrate Christmas and pretty much celebrate that as a secular holiday.

Unfortunately, all of these things are under the heading of "religion," even though at least one of the groups listed above doesn't really approach it as a religion at all.

If someone is born Jewish and goes to Hebrew school and has a Bar Mitzvah, but then they decide from a pure philosophic standpoint to attend Christian church every week and to stop celebrating Jewish holidays, then which are they? Both? Neither?

[1004srs]

I am Catholic, but I attended a really cool fundie-lite kind of church for a while. I loooooved their worship services. I like some of their general beliefs, too.

When they offer a special service (like for New Years Eve), I go.

[flojo]

Here in Japan it's very normal. 80% of the population are Shinto and 80% are Buddhist.

There is a saying "born Shinto, die Buddhist, marry Christian", reflecting this ('Christian' weddings are very popular).

Also, you will often find elements that are traditionally Buddhist at Shinto shrines, and traditionally Shinto elements at Buddhist temples.

[LIzzieB]

I used to date a guy whose mother was ethnically Chinese, stepfather was Anglo-Australian and the whole family was Muslim. They weren't particularly devout Muslims, they drank wine but did not eat pork products. The cool part was that they celebrated all the cultural and religious celebrations of each faith. So, we started with Christmas, then the feast to break the Ramadan fast (even though they didn't fast!), then several Chinese new year celebrations, followed by Easter. By the time Easter was over, you were totally sick of eating and of family gatherings, but it was pretty fun.

I think that most people have only one faith but may also perform other faith's rituals which are maybe more cultural than religious. I'm not religious myself, but do try to practise the central message of most faiths: treat others well. I celebrate Christmas because it is culturally appropriate and what I have been brought up with.

[Eponine]

I think it's very easy to have cultural practices from many religions. My family is nominally Christian but I grew up in an area that is 30%+ Jewish, many of my friends are Jewish, so when I was a kid I celebrated Hanukkah and Passover with them. My Jewish neighbor always used to organize Easter egg hunts for the neighborhood kids. Part of my family is Hindu and I regularly went to celebrations with them when they lived near me. I've practiced yoga for many years. I don't think any of those things would "make" me Jewish or Hindu or whatever - my one brother that remained a Christian would consider his religion to be Christian but his cultural experience to be a mix, for example. By the same token, I work as an au pair in a family that definitely identifies as religious and Jewish but they also celebrate Christmas with all the traditional trappings - they have a tree, have a Christmas dinner, give gifts, etc.

Your situation just seems to be a cultural mix, not necessarily having two religions. I think it would be difficult to reconcile two different faiths as such - like people have said, many are mutually exclusive and at some point I think you'd have to lean one way or another.

[pomology]

In my opinion, the issue with Christians pretending to be Jewish, is that you can't just say you're Jewish and that's that. You either have to be born a Jew or go through a recognized conversion process to be considered a Jew. Yes, that's a sticky point, because not all Jews will accept all the conversions that other Jews do, but still the idea is there that you have to go through some approved process.

Thus, you can't just declare yourself a Jew or as a practitioner of Judaism just like that. If you grow up in a mixed faith household, you can, depending on which of your parents is Jewish and what movement you belong to, legitimately claim yourself to be Jewish and Christian. But, again, it's a complicated situation.

Basically, I think that dabbling in traditions of other people is okay on the condition that it is done with a respect for the people who's tradition your are dabbling with and you respect their opinions on it. That's again a problem with faux-Jews--they don't respect the opinions of actual Jews. Just like it's okay for anybody who wants to to go to a Catholic mass and find it spiritual and uplifting--as long as they don't take the eucharist.

[Soldier of the One]

I also think it is easier to 'combine' religions that do not share similar truth claims. I.e. Christianity and Judaism is a contentious mix because of the truth claims regarding Messiah. The same would probably apply to any combination featuring Islam as well. Basically, the three Abrahamic faiths make certain truth claims that are incompatible with each other.

But when religions do not make these claims are occupy very different 'market niches', I think it is easier. Like, Christianity and Buddhism, or Judaism and Buddhism. Buddhism is so different in so many ways from either Christianity/Judaism that it is non-threatening. It is culturally, historically and theologically different.

I also think that animist and polytheist traditions (i.e. Shinto and folk Buddhism) have an easier time as well. Ah, what's one more divinity in a pantheon of divinities? Come join the club!

We Abrahamic monotheists are an exclusivist bunch. For better or worse. Often for worse, I must admit :(

[snarkykitty]

So I've been reading some of the snark about Lina (I think that's who) and her faux-Jewishness and it got me thinking about something.

When my siblings and I were kids, my mom liked to celebrate Hanukkah with us, even though we're not Jewish. I think it probably started as a way to teach us about different religions. We didn't do all eight nights. I think we would usually wait until the last night and light all the candles. She had a book she would read to us that explained the story of Hanukkah and then she would give us each a little gift. She kept doing this even after we grew up and sat there rolling our eyes and going, "Jeez, Mom, this is silly, we're missing [insert favorite TV show here]," so I assume it had some sort of personal meaning to her outside of teaching her children about Judaism.

So my question is, can a person only have one religion? If they call themselves a particular religion, do they have to reject everything that is not officially a part of that religion?

I wanted to say more, but my mom wants me to go to the store and then I have to go to The Church of the Holy Football Game. :dance:

I guess it depends on how entrenched you want to be in your religion's culture, how much you discuss your additional beliefs, and if you have the desire/knowledge/ability to answer questions about potential conflicting ideals.

[TheJewAmongUs]

Easter egg hunts are not practicing a religion, just as lighting Hanukkah candles is not really practicing Judaism.

And just to be clear, in Lina's case, she is seeking a full orthodox conversion, but she still believe in Jesus ("Yeshua") as the messiah. Yes, that bothers people.

There is also the fundie blogger who decided that the Jewish calendar is wrong, and she would decide when to observe Jewish holidays. Sure, she's easy to dismiss and ignore, but it is still pretty damn irksome as you walk away.

Your elementary school had a blue star display next to the Christmas tree? Great. But I promise you there is a parent who complained about it. (And imagine as a child what that's like when other people don't want you represented, or have an issue with your beliefs and culture, when 99% of the time you're keeping to yourself.) I really feel for Muslims in this country because I know how hard it is to be "different" in ways that people don't understand you are NOT going to change.

And I'm not saying Jews have the monopoly on being offended, but is hard to be Jewish. Despite how accepting people think their communities are, you ARE discriminated against. (I know this is not unique to Jews, I'm just narrowing it down to my experience.*) Having grown up being left out of things for being Jewish, facing consequences for things like missing school on Yom Kippur or missing the "mandatory" meeting the first night of Passover, or all of the negative comments in school (and now work), or the people who just don't get that it's ok that I'm not "saved," yea, Lina personally offends me.

Anyway, I'm not going to give all my specific examples, you don't have to agree with me, or understand, I'm just saying Easter eggs and spinning a dreidel don't really mitigate anything.

*I'm also not saying I haven't known intolerant Jews. Believe me, I do. I don't give them a pass at all.

[Stickers]

I think someone can have more then one religion, even two or all three of the Abrahamic religions. I'm not at all sure how it would work :lol: but there are no limits on how many things a person can believe.

[Guest Anonymous]

I think someone can have more then one religion, even two or all three of the Abrahamic religions. I'm not at all sure how it would work :lol: but there are no limits on how many things a person can believe.

Six impossible things before breakfast? ;)

[ems]

There's a C.S. Lewis quote that I wish I could remember -- anybody know what I'm talking about - where he talks about how when he was an atheist he was more limited in his belief (no god/s) than when he because Christian and could believe things about other faiths that are not contradictory to Christianity. Not trying to knock atheism with that, but I always liked the quote as a liberal Christian exposed to the more exclusive beliefs of the fundie-lite set. As people have pointed out, though, there are things about religions that are mutually exclusive.

As I already noted, I consider myself a (liberal) Christian, but there are elements of Buddhism that really do speak to me, as a result of having a therapist who uses a lot of Buddhist-inspired beliefs. In some ways Buddhism seems to be more of a philosophy than a religion, and so perhaps more compatible with one of the three Abrahamic religions...

As far as Lina -- in some ways I think she is sincere in wanting to practice the Judaism of her Messiah, just very confused and naive and misguided. I definitely see how she can be offensive as she just does her own thing religion wise but not really respecting either of the religions she claims to follow.

I don't think there's anything wrong with participating in the cultural traditions of other religions, provided that it's done with respect. I remember when my family went to see the National Christmas Tree and Menorah...my brother was a pre-teen or teen at the time and after we looked at the Menorah was all, "Why don't we celebrate Hannukah?" My mom: "Because we're not Jewish." Brother: "Who cares? 8 days of presents!" :roll: So yeah, not like that.