Shouldn't Jake be going to Mass?
Jake and possibly Rachel are Jewish
No they're not, or more correctly, we really have no idea if they are or aren't. Their
fathers are Jewish (as noted in the MM with the messed up realty). We have no evidence they live a Jewish lifestyle, but Judaism traditionally only considers you Jewish if your mother is Jewish. Treating someone as Jewish based on the ridiculous notion of "bloodlines" -any bloodline - is what the Nazis did. Which made sense because in that book they were living in a world where the people in power were highly prejudiced, highly discriminatory, very controlling.
They could be Reconstructionist or Reform, but we have no evidence of that - in order for them to be so, they would have had to be
raised in a Jewish lifestyle - classes, bar/bat mitzvah, confirmation, synagogue, etc., etc. Those movements only accept one as Jewish if a person is actively
raised Jewish. There's no mention of a Jewish lifestyle, just that "My dad's Jewish, but he's a Patriot of State." It's the only reference we get, ever, and it's not enough to determine being Jewish or not. I would assume because of the lack of reference to Judaism or whatever their mothers practice that they're probably non-observant in both. Which just effectively makes them not really Jewish or anything else their parents might identify is.
Further, we don't know that for sure. Why is Jake's father Jewish? I mean, does he identify as Jewish, or is it because that skewed world has the concept that if you have "even a drop" of Jewish blood in them that a person is Jewish? For all we know, his father is Jewish five or six generations back on his father's side. We don't know because we don't have an adequate understanding of that world. I don't remember anything pinning both of his grandparents as Jewish (or even one?) so it could be that sort of reality.
Basically, we have no idea what they are.
Sorry, but this is one of my pet peeves when something that has no evidence one way or another becomes mainstream thought. My father's Jewish, but I'm not - by any movement, because I wasn't raised Jewish so even those that accept the father being Jewish don't accept me as such without conversion. I've been converting for over four years because I keep having to move before I can get to Beit Din and mikveh. It's a very long time to know more than most adults there (because I have adult education whereas they have child education) and not be able to participate in services as an actual part of the minyan and other things.
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Now, for the rest... You know, religious people can be scary. It really depends on how it's used, and when people think their truth has to be clear to everyone else - even those with a different truth - that's when I start getting really, really concerned. Especially when it starts getting put ahead of reality, or used to try to control or force others to do things, or values are tied in with some religions but not others.
But religion can be really helpful for others, helping them out of drug/alcohol issues, depression, anxiety... You know, DBT - a treatment for anxiety disorders - was actually based off of Buddhist concepts. I use Judaism similarly - the rituals and traditions give me a really strict order of how my day should go, which helps me remember things, stay calm, etc., etc. On a personal scale like that, it doesn't have to be a bad thing - I just don't like it when people try to make the whole world fit under one bubble of logic. Because, well, it doesn't work. And it's even worse when people think faith will solve all their problems or the world's problems. I just can never understand that mode of thought, and I think that was the issue of
The Sharing and other things - it's never safe to believe that something can take away your problems. You have to know it takes patience and also being responsible for yourself.