#atheist jew

[askjumblr]

Hi! I'm a prospective convert and currently something of an atheist. Basically, I believe in the divine as a concept, and I believe that certain actions are in themselves holy (feeding the hungry, healing the sick, etc.), but I don't believe in the existence of a higher power. I haven't properly studied Torah yet, but I worry that I would not be able to study in a meaningful way since I would not literally believe in the Torah. I worry that this would make conversion functionally impossible.

I know that it's possible to be a Jewish atheist, but my understanding is that Jewish atheists are typically born Jews. I can't picture a rabbi taking on a conversion student who does not believe in God and is therefore unable to accept the Torah.

Being that I'm an atheist and expect to continue being an atheist, should I just give up on the idea of converting, or is there a meaningful way to convert without belief in a divine being? Any advice on navigating this? (If anyone has book recommendations, I'm prepared to do a lot of reading.)

OP does not mention what movement they intend to convert under. Please state your FOR and identify which movements you are discussing clearly 😊

[nirivenova]

So glad I'm an online student so I don't have to take a chance of being an unwilling participant in the weirdly accepted murder fetish and I can actually get a fucking education

[genderkoolaid]

nations which pride themselves on their secularity when you ask them which "God" they are asking to bless their country:

[whereserpentswalk]

Fellow pagans. Remember that the pagan experience is not purely an ex Christian experience. That experience is worth talking about, but please don't talk about the pagan experience as if leaving Christianity is universal to being neopagan.

Ex atheist pagans deserve to have their experiences acknowledged by the community.

Ex Muslim pagans deserve to have their experiences acknowledged by the community.

Non practicing Jewish pagans deserve to have their experiences acknowledged by the community.

Pagans who have been pagan for most or all of their life deserve to have their experiences acknowledged by the community.

[jessicalprice]

Sorry, Christian atheists, but “Christianity traumatized me” is not a get-out-of-accountability-free card for upholding Christian supremacy through your treatment of members of minority cultures, reiterating Christian evangelism and colonialism but for your WASP brand of atheism, promoting Christian purity and hierarchy but with the serial numbers filed off, insisting that the Christian model of culture is the only one that exists and shouting down members of non-Christian cultures about their own cultures and experiences, etc.

Oh, you don’t like members of non-Christian cultures pointing out the ways in which your behaviors continue to normalize and uphold Christian hegemony?

THEN MAYBE STOP ACTING LIKE CHRISTIANS.

[ohholydyke]

Actually the Great Commission is about generating a culture of love and care between diverse interconnected global communities not about colonizing and trying to convert groups because you think their way of life is somehow lesser unless they approach the Divine from a Christian lens

[hindahoney]

Maybe it's just a jumblr thing but I do get annoyed at the portrayal of Jews being constantly mad at God. If you didn't know anything about judaism tumblr would really convince you that all Jews either hate God or don't believe in Him. It's the same thing for Jews in media as well, I've never seen a Jewish person portrayed who talks proudly about their culture. There is so much more to being jewish than having a culture that encourages questioning and disagreement with God.

[jewishboricua]

every time i see someone exclude, mock or ignore queer religious people's existence (whether from bigoted religious people or bigoted queer people) i think it should be perfectly acceptable for us to punch them in the face for that

[goose-onthe-loose]

Happy Tears

[askjumblr]

Sorry this is kind of a heavier question, but. Religious/theistic Jews, how do you still believe in G-d? I desperately want to believe, but it's getting harder lately. My grandfather became an atheist when he saw what happened in the camps. My mother was religious until she started dating my dad, who apparently logic'd so hard he ruined religion for her. Most of my friends are atheists. It seems like I'm the only one that isn't, but I don't know. The idea that G-d has a plan is really comforting, but it seems impossible. How could He let all these things happen? I feel like G-d either doesn't exist, or He abandoned us. And yet, I still pray and thank Him and it feels so wrong to *not* do any Jewish rituals. Do any of you ever feel like this?

.

[shalom-iamcominghome]

I am all for atheism, but I will say that watching a short video where a person said one of the reasons they were an atheist is because people uncritically follow their parents' religion was rather funny because

Most of my jewish friends are converts, and all of our parents are still of a different faith. In fact, one of the people at shul joked that we ought to study the phenomenon of ex-catholics becoming jewish because they've seen the "catholic to jewish" pipeline so much.

I think what bothered me more about that video was focusing on religion being Right, especially about g-d. I can only speak for myself, but I didn't choose judaism because I thought it was correct (at least, that isn't my sole reason), but because it enriched my life in a way that nothing else has. I think focusing on the idea of a Perfectly Right religion is too shallow an endeavor.

I think the third layer that makes this funny to me is I (semi-jokingly) call myself theistic, agnostic, and atheist combined

[scribefindegil]

Oh, Russian Tea Cakes/Mexican Wedding Cakes/Snowball Cookies/any and all other regional names for small round nutty shortbreads rolled in confectioner's sugar, I love you so ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

[gingerswagfreckles]

Jews can be atheists. Atheists. Atheists. ATHEISTS. No, not agnostic. Atheists. Yes, including the type of Atheist you don't like.

[attackfish]

So I reported this asshole and IP blocked them, for their intense and blatant antisemitism, but I'm screenshotting and posting this ask because it's a perfect example of what I talked about here: [Link] on my other blog.

I am really open about being an atheist. I am of course really open about being Jewish. I frequently talk about the two in conjuction, and when I talk about Christian cultural hegemony in atheist spaces and antisemitism in atheist spaces, I am talking as a Jewish atheist. But the first thing any gentile atheist who doesn't want to think about antisemitism and Christian cultural hegemony does, is erase my atheism and paint me as the outsider religious person attacking atheists.

And the same thing happens when queer Jews bring up antisemitism in the queer community. Our queerness is erased, and it's "Oh the Jews are such bigots, attacking queer people!" Every time. Intracommunity discussions of antisemitism in communities we belong to, over and over are shut down by gentile members of those communities, painting us as outsiders and interlopers trying to atrack the community. Thank you, Nonny, for providing a perfect example.

[lanascurse]

people still unknowingly defending misogynistic, homophobic, and racist religions out there…imma laugh over here while they embarrass themselves

[jesusislord3333]