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Jewish atheism[1] is theatheism of people who areethnically and (at least to some extent)culturallyJewish.
"Jewish atheism" is not a contradiction[2] becauseJewish identity encompasses not onlyreligious components but also, and for most Jews mainly, ethnic and cultural ones.Jewish law's emphasis ondescent through the mother means that even religiously conservativeOrthodox Jewish authorities would accept an atheist born to a Jewish mother asfully Jewish.[3]
Jewish secularism, which describes Jews who do not explicitly reject theexistence of God but also do not believe it is an important part oftheir Jewishness, has along tradition in the United States.[4]
A 2013Pew Research Center study found that 62% of self-describedAmerican Jews saybeing Jewish is mainly a matter ofancestry andculture, while 15% say it is mainly a matter ofreligion. 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 insupernatural concepts (such asGod or theafterlife) to be Jewish.[5] A 2025 Pew Research Center study found that 26% of self-described American Jews "don't believe in God or a universal spirit and they are certain in this belief".[6]
Irreligious andsecular Jewish organizations mostly date to the 20th century, from the Jewish socialistBund in early-20th-century Poland to the modern Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations and theSociety for Humanistic Judaism in the United States.
Jewish atheists and agnostics may feel comfortable within any of the three major non-OrthodoxJewish denominations (Reform,Conservative, andReconstructionist). This is less of a contradiction than it might 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] ButOrthodox Judaism regards the acceptance of the "Yoke of Heaven" (the sovereignty of theGod of Israel upon theJewish people and the divine revelation of theTorah) as afundamental obligation for all Jews, and the Reform Jewish movement has rejected atheistic temples' efforts at affiliation, even though manyReform,Conservative, andReconstructionist Jews are either atheists or agnostics themselves.[8] Nevertheless, there are many atheist and agnostic Jews in modern non-Orthodox Jewish denominations.[9]
19th-century and early-20th-centuryReform Judaism in theUnited States, which became thedominant form of Judaism in the country by the 1880s, was profoundly shaped by its engagement with high-profile skeptics and atheist thinkers such asRobert Ingersoll andFelix Adler, and rabbis such asIsaac Mayer Wise,Kaufmann Kohler,Emil G. Hirsch,Joseph Krauskopf,Aaron Hahn, andJ. Leonard Levy, resulting in a distinctlypanentheistic U.S. Reform Jewish theology, which many would view asatheistic,skeptic, and/or havingirreligious tendencies.[10]
Liberal Jewish theology makes fewmetaphysical claims and is thus compatible withatheism on anontological level. The founder ofReconstructionist Judaism,Mordecai Kaplan, espoused anaturalistic definition of God, and some proponents of post-Holocaust theology have also eschewed belief in apersonal god.[11][12] TheJewish 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 usetheistic language, makes fewmetaphysical claims that non-believers would find objectionable.[14][15]
Many Jewish atheists reject even this level of ritualized and symbolic identification, instead embracing a thoroughgoingsecularity and basingtheir Jewishness entirely in ethnicity andsecular Jewish culture. Possibilities for secular Jewishness include identification with Jewish history andpeoplehood, immersion in Jewish literature (including such non-religious Jewish authors asPhilip Roth andAmos Oz), consumption ofJewish food, use ofJewish humor, and attachment to Jewish languages such asYiddish,Hebrew, andLadino. A high proportion of Israeli Jews consider themselves secular, rejecting some religious practices (see also:Religion in Israel).
Jewish atheists and agnostics may continue to observeJewish traditions, holidays, and customs, but view them more as cultural heritage than religious obligations. For example, celebratingHanukkah orPassover can be seen as an important family and cultural ritual rather than a religious act.[16] In the documentary seriesЕврейское 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 asShabbat, 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 likephubbing andFOMO.[17]
Some Jewish atheists are active in secular and humanist movements that advocate separation of church and state, human rights, and a scientific worldview.[18][19]
Famous atheist or agnostic Jews includeAlbert Einstein,Karl Marx, andSigmund Freud. Their views on religion influenced their work and philosophical positions as well as subsequent scientists and philosophers.[20][21][22] 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 aLutheran, and is among the most notable and influential atheist thinkers of modern history; he developed dialectical andhistorical materialism, which became the basis for his critique ofcapitalism and theories ofscientific socialism. He was a major influence on other prominent Jewish intellectuals, includingMoses 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 theopium of the people."[23]
The contradictory symbiosis between religiosity and atheism among atheists in the Jewish context has ambivalent qualities and is discussed extensively inThe 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.[24][25] In Freud'sThe 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."[26] Other researchers have written about Freud's views on religion and Jewish identity.[27][28]
Ayn Rand, a Russian-born American philosopher of Jewish descent, was a staunch atheist and considered atheism an integral part of her philosophy ofobjectivism. Her ideas significantly influencedlibertarianism andindividualism.[29]
Other famous Jews have wholeheartedly embraced atheism, rejecting religiosity altogether. The anarchistEmma Goldman was born to an Orthodox Jewish family and rejected belief in God,[30] while the Israeli prime ministerGolda Meir, when asked if she believed in God, answered: "I believe in the Jewish people, and the Jewish people believe in God."[31] OfDavid Ben-Gurion, the founder ofIsrael known for his atheism, it was often said: "Although he didn't believe in God, it seems God believed in him."[32]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").[33]David Silverman, president of theAmerican Atheists from 2010 to 2018, swore after his bar mitzvah that he would never again lie about his atheism.[34] American Jewish authorPhilip Roth was an outspoken atheist and called himselfanti-religious.[35]
Jewish atheism has a long history, with recorded sources dating to the 17th century. Dutch philosopherBaruch Spinoza is considered the Jewish herald of the secular age.[36][37] In hisHistorical 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 workEthics),[38][39][40][41] 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.[42][43][44]
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 theTimes 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.[45] 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.[46] 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.[47]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)He seems to subscribe to Golda Meir's observation: 'I believe in the Jewish people, and the Jewish people believe in God.'
I'm exactly the opposite of religious," he says. "I'm anti-religious. I find religious people hideous. I hate the religious lies. It's all a big lie." [...] "I have such a huge dislike. It's not a neurotic thing, but the miserable record of religion—I don't even want to talk about it. It's not interesting to talk about the sheep referred to as believers. When I write, I'm alone. It's filled with fear and loneliness and anxiety—and I never needed religion to save me.
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