Strictly speaking, if someone is said to be Jewish, does that refer to their religion or their nationality?
Both. And for all that it doesn’t seem like a satisfactory answer, that’s just how it is. It doesn’t even really matter if you’re Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform, so don’t worry about trying to distinguish among them if you don’t know the difference. “Nationality” is a recent invention. Forgive me, but I’m going to discard that word because it doesn’t fit here. Let’s look at it in terms of “ethnicity” or “ancestry” instead, because those terms are more readily applicable to ancient history. — Judaism is a religion. Jews believe in God, they follow His rules from the Old Testament (okay, some follow more than others, but the 10 Commandments are pretty standard!), they have certain prayers that they make in certain situations. And you can convert to Judaism. There are no Jewish missionaries. They won’t go looking for converts, but if you prove that you’re serious and you really want to be Jewish you can do it. Some people may be more welcoming than others, but converts to Judaism are
Strictly speaking, being “Jewish” can refer to a person’s Religion, to their Nationality, OR to their Race. The term is origionally based on a “God” theme, so the origions are religious, as God interacted with a Race/Nation. There are African and Irish people who can “convert,” and “become Jewish.” That is definitely religious. In a mixed marriage family, if the Mother is Jewish, the children are considered to be Jewish. That is the “Race” part of the equation. The physical Nation of Israel is a Jewish Nation. And to complicate international law a little more, any Jewish person is free to claim citizenship in the Nation of Israel. Simple answer, It depends on the Jewish person you are talking to. Ask them, if you require more clarification.
