Reddit reviews Encyclopedia of Judaism (Encyclopedia of World Religions)

Although there exists Judaism (the religion) and the Jewish people (the ethnic group descended from Israelites and Hebrews), the Jewish people are also often called an "ethnoreligious group" because their identity and history are seen as strongly interrelated with their religion (its contents and history). For example, Boyarin - Orthodox Jew and historian of religion - argues the following:

>Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension with one another.

The interrelation between the two and the term "Jew" is ancient. Per the Encyclopedia Judaica:

>After the destruction of Israel only Judah remained, and the term “Yehudi,” or “Jew,” then lost its specific connection with the Southern Kingdom. This is strikingly illustrated in Esther 2:5, 5:13, where Mordecai, although belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, is called a Yehudi. This term was also utilized at that time for the Jewish religion since it is related that, after Haman’s downfall, many from among the people of the land converted to Judaism (mityahadim, Esth.8:17). The term “Jew” connoted by this time a religious, political, and national entity, without differentiation between these categories.

The definition of Jew it provides is halakhic, which is how "Jew" is historically determined:

>Halakhic Definition

>Both a child born of Jewish parents and a convert to Judaism are considered Jews, possessing both the sanctity of the Jewish people (Ex. 19:6) and the obligation to observe the commandments [...]

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Regarding halakhah, Dorff explains:

>Halakhah, the word used to refer to Jewish law, comes from the Hebrew root meaning “to walk” or “to go”; this indicates that Jewish law prescribes a path through life, detailing what an individual should and should not do, according to divine commandments (∗mitzvot) as they have been interpreted and applied by legal scholars throughout the ages.

>Halakhah occupies a central place in Jewish identity. Although theological convictions define Jewish understandings of ∗God, humanity, the ∗environment, and the relationships among them, Judaism has never defined itself in terms of official creeds. Instead, the focus is on actions. At the same time, ∗Judaism, in general, and Jewish norms of conduct, in particular, are not defined exclusively by halakhah. Stories, proverbs, ∗prayers, ∗thought, history, and ethical and theological convictions all shape how Jews understand themselves and determine how they should act [...]

>Now that Jews are citizens of the countries in which they live, they are governed by the state in civil and criminal matters. This means that individual Jews must determine for themselves how much authority halakhah will have in other areas of their lives. This has led to great diversity in Jewish practice and in Jewish interpretations of the ongoing authority of halakhah. Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform ∗Judaisms differ on these issues, within denominations as well as with the other movements.

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The question of who is a Jew is a big question. See also what Encyclopedia of Judaism compiled by Karesh and Hurvitz has to say:

>The term Jew was first used as a reference to anyone who came from ERETZ YISRAEL (the Land of Israel) during the first EXILE in BABYLONIA. Prior to the exile these people were referred to as Bnei Yisrael, Children of Israel, emphasizing the lineage to the PATRIARCHS. Since those who remained and returned after the first Exile descended mostly from the tribe of JUDAH, whose territory had abutted JERUSALEM, they came to be known as Jews (Neh 1:2). During the time of the Greeks and Romans, and the second Exile beginning in 70 C.E., those whose ancestors came from Eretz Yisrael became known as ioudaios, or Jews.

Regarding Jewish identity,

>The question of Jewish identity in the modern world is complex, involving not just a person’s religious beliefs and affiliation but also his or her cultural and national identity. As the modern world became more secular, so too did the Jews (see ACCOMODATION; ASSIMILATION; MODERNITY). ORTHODOX JUDAISM defines Jewish identity fairly simply: anyone who was born to a Jewish mother or who observes Jewish law (HALAKHAH) is Jewish. In this traditional realm, it is clear that a Jew is a person who participates in Jewish rituals and believes in the tenets of the Jewish tradition.

>Yet many people in the modern world think of themselves as Jews even though they reject the binding nature of Jewish law, as has occurred in REFORM JUDAISM and RECONSTRUCTIONIST JUDAISM, and even if they do not affiliate with any Jewish religious movement at all. The issue becomes one of group identification and self-identification: how people perceive themselves, and how the family, school, and Jewish community impact the development of a person’s identity as a child and
into adulthood.

>Orthodox and Conservative institutions only recognize a person as a Jew if he or she has a Jewish mother or has formally converted to Judaism. Reform Judaism considers a person a Jew even if only the father is Jewish and the person is raised as a Jew. This creates tensions between the movements regarding Jewish identity [...]

>Mordecai KAPLAN, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, defined Judaism not as a religion, but as a civilization, with its own land, language, laws, sanctions, art, and social structure. Kaplan felt that religion was but one aspect of Jewish identity, and the Jew in the modern world seems to agree, finding myriad ways to be Jewish inside and outside of religious life.

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For illustration, according to the Pew Research Center,

>Nearly all Jews in the United States and Israel say they are proud to be Jewish, and large majorities in both countries say they feel a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people. But the two Jewish communities do not always agree about what it means to be Jewish, according to a new Pew Research Center survey of religion in Israel (compared with our 2013 survey of U.S. Jews) [...]

>The notion that a person can be Jewish even without observing the Sabbath or believing in God may be tied to the idea held by many Jews that being Jewish is more about ancestry or culture than about religion. Indeed, a plurality of Jews in Israel (55%) and a majority in the U.S. (62%) say this is the case for them personally, although 23% in each country say their Jewish identity is about religion and ancestry/culture equally.