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Jewish atheism[1] is the atheism of people who are ethnically and (at least to some extent) culturally Jewish.
"Jewish atheism" is not a contradiction[2] because Jewish identity encompasses not only religious components but also ethnic and cultural ones. The Jewish atheist embraces a deep, almost paradoxical love for Jewish tradition—not from belief in God, but from a profound attachment to justice, cultural heritage, and community, making this devotion neither reducible to faith nor entirely separate from it.[3] Jewish law's emphasis on descent through the mother means that even religiously conservative Orthodox Jewish authorities would accept an atheist born to a Jewish mother as fully Jewish.[4]
Jewish secularism, which describes Jews who do not explicitly reject God's existence but also do not believe it is an important part of their Jewishness, has a long tradition in the United States.[5] A 2013 study by the Pew Research Center found that 62% of self-described American Jews say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, while just 15% say it is mainly a matter of religion. Even among Jews by religion, 55% say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, while 66% say it is not necessary to believe in God to be Jewish.[6]
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Atheist and secular Jewish organizations mostly date to the 20th century, from the Jewish socialist Bund in early-20th-century Poland to the modern Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations and the Society for Humanistic Judaism in the United States.
Many Jewish atheists feel comfortable within any of the three major non-Orthodox Jewish denominations (Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist). This is less of a contradiction than it might first seem, given Judaism's emphasis on practice over belief, with even mainstream guides to Judaism suggesting that belief in God is not necessary for Jewish observance.[7] But Orthodox Judaism regards the acceptance of the "Yoke of Heaven" (the sovereignty of the God of Israel in the world and the divine origin of the Torah) as a fundamental obligation for Jews, and the Reform movement has rejected atheistic temples' efforts at affiliation even though many Reform Jews are atheist or agnostic.[8] Nevertheless, there are many atheists in many denominations of modern Judaism, from Humanistic Judaism to Conservative Judaism.[9]
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19th-century and early-20th-century Reform Judaism in the U.S., which became the dominant form of Judaism there by the 1880s, was profoundly shaped by its engagement with high-profile skeptics and atheists such as Robert Ingersoll and Felix Adler. These included the writings of rabbis such as Isaac Mayer Wise, Kaufmann Kohler, Emil G. Hirsch, Joseph Krauskopf, Aaron Hahn, and J. Leonard Levy, resulting in a distinctly panentheistic U.S. Reform Jewish theology, which many would have viewed as atheistic or having atheistic tendencies.[10]
Liberal Jewish theology makes few metaphysical claims and is thus compatible with atheism on an ontological level. The founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, Mordecai Kaplan, espoused a naturalistic definition of God, and some post-Holocaust theology has also eschewed a personal god.[11][12] The Jewish philosopher Howard Wettstein has advanced a non-metaphysical approach to religious commitment, according to which metaphysical theism-atheism is not the issue.[13] Harold Schulweis, a Conservative rabbi trained in the Reconstructionist tradition, has argued that Jewish theology should move from a focus on God to an emphasis on "godliness". This "predicate theology", while continuing to use theistic language, makes few metaphysical claims that non-believers would find objectionable.[14][15]
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Many Jewish atheists reject even this level of ritualized and symbolic identification, instead embracing a thoroughgoing secularism and basing their Jewishness entirely in ethnicity and secular Jewish culture. Possibilities for secular Jewishness include identification with Jewish history and peoplehood, immersion in Jewish literature (including such non-religious Jewish authors as Philip Roth and Amos Oz), consumption of Jewish food, use of Jewish humor, and attachment to Jewish languages such as Yiddish, Hebrew, and Ladino. A high proportion of Israeli Jews consider themselves secular, rejecting some religious practices (see Religion in Israel). While some non-believers of Jewish ancestry do not consider themselves Jews, preferring to define themselves solely as atheists, others believe Judaism is a culture and tradition that can be embraced without religious faith.[16]
Many Jewish atheists continue to observe Jewish traditions, holidays, and customs, but view them more as cultural heritage than religious obligations. For example, celebrating Hanukkah or Passover can be seen as an important family and cultural ritual rather than a religious act.[17][18] In the documentary series Еврейское счастье (Jewish Happiness), alongside exploring other aspects, the question "Who is a Jew?" is extensively discussed. In one episode, a family of atheists deeply engages in certain Jewish religious traditions, such as Shabbat, which, one of the documentary's characters asserts, has come to us as a tradition from ancient times but fits very well into contemporary reality. Specifically, it provides the opportunity to spend a whole day communicating with one's children, free from pervasive modern issues like phubbing and FOMO.[19]
Some Jewish atheists are active in secular and humanist movements that advocate separation of church and state, human rights, and a scientific worldview.[20][21]
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Famous atheist or agnostic Jews include Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud. Their views on religion influenced their work and philosophical positions as well as subsequent scientists and philosophers.[22][23][24] Many well-known Jews have rejected a belief in deities. Some have denied the existence of a traditional deity while continuing to use religious language. Marx was born into an ethnically Jewish family but raised as a Lutheran, and is among the most notable and influential atheist thinkers of modern history; he developed dialectical and historical materialism, which became the basis for his critique of capitalism and theories of scientific socialism. He was a major influence on other prominent Jewish intellectuals, including Moses Hess. One of Marx's most cited comments on religion is "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."[25]
The contradictory symbiosis between religiosity and atheism among atheists in the Jewish context has ambivalent qualities and is discussed extensively in The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, as is how Jewish thinkers deal with these dynamics. This nuanced connection is also evident in other prominent Jewish atheists who maintained their cultural identity. The text discusses how the concept of religion developed in a Judeo-Christian context can be incorrect when applied outside that context. But careful application of these concepts can shed light on the unique perspectives of Jewish atheists who still value their cultural heritage.[26][27] In Freud's The Future of an Illusion, he eschews religious belief and outlines its origins and prospects. But Freud also urged a Jewish colleague to raise his son in the Jewish religion, saying, "If you do not let your son grow up as a Jew, you will deprive him of those sources of energy which cannot be replaced by anything else."[28] Other researchers have written about Freud's views on religion and Jewish identity.[29][30]
Other famous Jews have wholeheartedly embraced atheism, rejecting religiosity altogether. The anarchist Emma Goldman was born to an Orthodox Jewish family and rejected belief in God,[31] while the Israeli prime minister Golda Meir, when asked if she believed in God, answered: "I believe in the Jewish people, and the Jewish people believe in God."[32] Of David Ben-Gurion, the founder of Israel known for his atheism, it was often said: "Although he didn't believe in God, it seems God believed in him."[33] Woody Allen's work often explores the tension between his Jewishness and religious doubt ("Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends").[34] David Silverman, president of the American Atheists from 2010 to 2018, swore after his bar mitzvah that he would never again lie about his atheism.[35] American Jewish author Philip Roth was an outspoken atheist and called himself anti-religious.[citation needed] Ayn Rand, a Russia-born American philosopher of Jewish descent, was a staunch atheist and considered atheism an integral part of her philosophy of objectivism. Her atheistic ideas significantly influenced libertarianism and individualism.[36]
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Jewish atheism has a long history, with recorded sources dating to the 17th century. Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza is considered the Jewish herald of the secular age.[37][38] In his Historical and Critical Dictionary, Pierre Bayle called Spinoza "the greatest atheist". Jewish thinkers of the 19th century were especially zealous in accusing Spinoza of atheism (criticizing his work Ethics),[39][40][41][42] especially in terms of his denial of "revelation", but this was not atheism in the modern sense.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, many Jews embraced secular and socialist ideals. Particularly in the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, many Jews became atheists under the influence of communist ideology.[43][44][45]
Confirming the diverse history of Jewish atheism, reflecting a wide range of views and approaches to faith and identity, a blog entry by Vladimir Minkov on the Times of Israel portal notes that a significant portion of modern U.S. Jews identify themselves as atheists or agnostics. Minkov argues that this is due to various factors, including lack of deep understanding of Jewish religious teachings and desire to find a Jewish identity outside traditional religious frameworks.[46] Some interviews with Jewish atheists show that many of them continue to observe Jewish traditions and participate in cultural activities despite renouncing their religious beliefs. This demonstrates ambivalence when cultural-ethnic identity and a certain religiosity are preserved even in the absence of faith in God.[47] Thus atheism among Jews is not only widespread but multifaceted, providing rich material for research and discussion on the topic of faith and identity in the Jewish context and making atheism among Jews an interesting subject for interdisciplinary research.[48]
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