The crisis of faith: Recasting Judaism as a religion is destroying Jewish identity

To fully embrace Jewish indigeneity and reject the non-Jewish world’s attempt to impose its thinking upon us, the Jewish people must re-examine how we define our Jewish identity. There is no aspect of this process more vital than the notion of Judaism as a religion. This perspective is so deeply embedded in our collective psyche that it seems almost like a natural truth. Overcoming it will be extraordinarily difficult and will require significant effort on both individual and collective levels. However, despite being so embedded, this concept is actually a relatively modern phenomenon. The Jewish people were always self-described as an Am (people).

There is no word for religion in the Tanakh. And while the modern Hebrew word for religion is Dat, historically, it first appeared in Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther), where it was first used to reference law. The redefinition of Judaism began in earnest between the 16^th and 18^th centuries when Judaism started being referred to specifically as the Jewish religion, in response to the Christian discourses that dominated at the time.

Prior to the Reformation, “religio” was used only in reference to Christianity, but after this point it came to be used in a broader sense, meaning a set of theological beliefs; in other words, what we define today as a ‘religion’. Crucially, this definition was applied to Jews by Christian scholars. Richard Baxter, in his The Reasons of the Christian Religion, for instance, wrote in 1667: “Four sorts of Religions I find only considerable upon earth: The meer Naturalists, called commonly Heathens and Idolaters; the Jews; the Mohametans; and the Christians. The Heathens by their Oracles, Augures and Auspices, confess necessity of some supernatural light; and the very Religion of all the rest consisteth of it.”

Giving its dominance in the Western world, this Christian thinking soon began to influence Jewish scholars, such as Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. The renowned scholar Abraham Melamed believes that Luzzatto was the first Jew to use the phrase “The Jewish religion” (religione hebrea). The process accelerated in the 19th century, following the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment), when new definitions of Judaism were created in order to assimilate Jews and Jewishness into Europe.

By this process, Jews were ‘remade’ in the likeness of the new post-Enlightenment world. In 1836 Joshua van Oven, a Jewish community leader in London, defined Judaism as “an inward feeling of awe and veneration, induced by the knowledge of the existence of an omnipotent and eternal God, the creator, preserver, and regulator of the universal, whom we strongly feel bound to worship and adore". This could be a description of Christianity.

As Melamed suggested, “The very fact that they found it useful to make such new definitions is clear proof of the need they found to redefine Judaism, under the pressure of their new circumstances”.

This redefinition of Judaism was inauthentic. While it is possible... for indigenous people to evolve, the notion of Jews as simply a religious group, like Christians or Muslims, is not an accurate representation of our identity. Unlike the ‘Jewification’ of the Greek Symposium, which created the Pesach Seder, this was not a case of cultural evolution but rather an attempt to remake Jews in the likeness of the Christian majority.

For Jews, even those of us who do not believe in God, He cannot be separated from our daily lives or actions. Some Jews infuse their Jewish actions with God; others do not. Nonetheless, the actions undertaken by both are the same.

When I say Kaddish for my late father, Malcolm, on his Yahrzeit every year, for instance, I light the Yahrzeit candle and recite the mourner’s prayer, which is solely focused on exalting God’s name. But when I say Kaddish, I am not thinking of God; I am thinking of my father and our connection with the Jews who have commemorated their dead in this way for thousands of years.

Given its definition as "the service and worship of God or the supernatural”, it is possible to argue that the Jewish belief in, and worship of, Hashem constitutes a religion. However, we should investigate our identity through our own lens, not through the lens of Christianity, which is the conceptual framework many of us have for religion. Thus, even if Jews do have a religion, in line with that definition, I would argue it is fundamentally different – as we have seen – from that of Christianity. Given its historical context, ‘Judaism’ would still be the incorrect term to describe it; rather, it should be understood as our indigenous culture.

Another definition of Judaism which requires further investigation is the notion it is a faith. If we accept that Judaism is not a religion (in the Christian context), then we should reject the idea of faith as it is understood by Christians. But what about the issue of faith within Judaism?

It is true that Jews have the concept of Emuna – a Hebrew term often translated into English as "faith”, but more accurately meaning “reliability, trustworthiness, dependability, steadiness”. But this concept differs from the Christian notion of faith. In terms of the difference between Emuna and Faith (or Pistis as the Greeks originally called it), we can turn briefly to Zwei Glaubensweisen (Two Types of Faith) by Martin Buber.

This was a work written in German, but translated into English and is another indication of the weakness of translation and the nuance and clarity we lose by not being able to interact with these important works in their original language. In Zwei Glaubensweisen, Martin Buber explores the differences in Christian and Jewish belief. In English, the book is translated into Two Types of Faith, but that is not a direct translation, rather it would be Two Beliefs.

And though they are used synonymously, as Oxford professor of philosophy Mark Wrathall stated, “It’s commonplace to treat belief and faith as synonyms ... but there are important differences”. Emuna is rooted in a dynamic relationship with God, emphasising trust, loyalty and a profound personal connection with the divine, hence the Jewish propensity to wrestle with God. It’s less about adhering to doctrines or creeds and more about engaging in a lived relationship with God, thriving on ongoing dialogue and encounters where the individual actively participates in their covenant with the divine.

In contrast, Pistis tends to focus more on believing in specific truths or doctrines. On Emuna and Pistis, Buber states in the English translation of his work, "The faith of Judaism and the faith of Christendom are by nature different in kind”.

This Jewish relationship with Judaism is exemplified in Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers), which states, ‘Hafoch ba hafoch ba, de’kula ba’ (Turn it over, and [again] turn it over, for all is therein). We are meant to forensically examine Judaism and intellectualise it so that we can grapple with it.

This is what the Talmud is – an examination. Judaism does not ask you to park rational or critical thinking at the door. This discussion highlights the challenges we face when investigating or understanding Jewishness through translations and a non-Jewish lens.

It clearly demonstrates that to explore our own civilisation, we must do so in the language in which it was written – Hebrew. Alongside that, we must perceive Judaism through a Jewish lens. If we don’t, we end up using English words to define our concepts and then applying a Christian context to understand them.

Another key reason why faith, in the Christian context, is not an accurate way of describing Jewish belief is that Judaism is not based on a formal creed or dogma. For example, Christianity has the Apostles’ Creed, which outlines essential beliefs required to be considered a Christian. But, as Rabbis Kaufmann Kohler and Emil G. Hirsch, have argued: ‘Many attempts have indeed been made at systematising and reducing to a fixed phraseology and sequence the contents of the Jewish religion. But these have always lacked the one essential element: authoritative sanction on the part of a supreme ecclesiastical body.’

In debates about faith and Judaism, Maimonides’ Shloshah Asar Ikkarim (translated as the Thirteen Principles of Faith) is often cited as evidence. It’s understandable why this might cause confusion – after all, the title itself includes the word ‘faith’. It is also true that these principles, while influential and perhaps more akin to a guide, do not constitute a creed. They represent Maimonides’ view on what Jewish beliefs might encompass but are not universally accepted. Other prominent rabbis, known as Anti-Maimonideans, have offered alternative perspectives on what should be considered the core tenets of Judaism.

Thus as Rabbis Kaufmann Kohler and Emil G. Hirsch also argued: "In the same sense as Christianity or Islam, Judaism cannot be credited with the possession of Articles of Faith.” And rooted in the difference between Emuna and Pistis, the distinction between Jewish and Christian belief is clear.

A crucial part of reclaiming our identity as Jews is reframing our understanding of Judaism. While it includes a belief in God, it is not a religion in the Christian sense of the word; it is the indigenous culture of the Jewish people, which contains God.

The process of reframing will not be easy, but it is essential for living our lives as Jews authentically. To achieve this, we must understand our civilisation through a Jewish lens. In terms of God, individual Jews can indeed live without believing in Hashem. However, the fact remains that God cannot be separated from Jewishness because He is so intertwined with Jewish expression…

It may also seem that notions such as God promising us Eretz Yisrael are at odds with more modern ideas like indigeneity. However, this misunderstands the very concept of indigeneity. It is a framework that explains a people’s emotional, physical and spiritual relationship with a land, which can include the belief in a deity or deities.

The belief that the land was promised to us by God doesn’t weaken our indigeneity; it strengthens it. Our ancient ancestors believed that the land they lived in was given by God and, therefore, was special to them.

Viewing Judaism through a Christian lens distorts and dilutes its true essence as our indigenous culture. For hundreds of years, Jewish identity has been shaped by outside influences, defined by the majority around us. This has led to the adoption of definitions and concepts that do not reflect our authentic experiences.

To rebuild our people and reclaim our story, we need to reject these external definitions and constraints and embrace an identity that honours our indigeneity. Judaism should be seen not as a religion, but as a rich culture and civilisation deeply intertwined with our land, God and peoplehood. This shift is crucial for maintaining the integrity of our identity and ensuring it accurately reflects our unique experiences and historic truth.

The Jews: An Indigenous People will be published on February 27 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon and Waterstones.