I have some Jewish heritage but I feel no connection to Judaism or Jewish...

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...culture, why is this? So I have a good deal of Jewish heritage (although there are Christians in my family too) but I feel no connection to Judaism. My grandpa was a Christian Scientist and my parents weren't religious. Then when I turned 14 I became a Christian and then my mom became a Christian too. My dad is nominally Jewish, but mainly it's just that he supports Israel.

But I was just reading an article about Orthodox Jews and it sounded really weird and foreign. I've been to synagogues and even took a couple of classes at an Orthodox synagogue named Chabad and it all seemed pretty strange ... they are good people, but still it reminds me of something from Eastern Europe and the Middle East combined. Non-religious Jews are not people I identify with either. I'm pretty conservative and they seem to generally be left of left. I don't come across as Jewish, I drive a truck and like country music and am really patriotic ... I also have light hair and eyes, you would guess my ancestry is Irish or something if you met me. I am a Christian, but I'm not extremely religious either. So what gives?
My parents weren't religious but we did go to synagogue occasionally and we celebrated Hannukah. It wasn't a big deal though ... we celebrated Christmas more.
 
If you didn't grow up with religious Jews, you can't identify with them. That is one thing about the melting pot culture we have. It is supposed to make us feel American, and not "foreign"
 
you are human, what else matters. it is up to you to decide how you want to live, not your ancestry
 
You are Jewish if your mother is Jewish or if you convert to Judaism.
According to this definition, you are not Jewish, which explains why you feel no affinity with Judaism.
 
It's alright if you don't feel much of a connection -- you weren't raised Jewish, after all. If you are content being a Christian, cool! If you ever decide that you want to learn more about Judaism than what you've learned up to this point, that's cool too! Orthodoxy is a beautiful tradition, and I have a lot of respect for its adherents, but it's not for everyone. If you're up for some studying, the other branches of Judaism -- Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, etc -- might be of more interest to you than Orthodoxy.

Also, don't worry about not coming across as Jewish. I like trucks. I like country music. And yes, I too am politically conservative. There is a definite tendency for Jews to gravitate towards the left, but you'll find diversity in political viewpoints in Judaism. There are also plenty of Jews with "light" features, as we're not really a race.

Oh, one more thing. If you ever decide to investigate Judaism further, you don't ever have to worry about being pressured to convert. That's not something we do. :-)

Hope this helps!
 
Have you had your penis handled and mutilated by a bearded man yet. This may explain why you can't connect with your faith.
 
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