Contemporary Judaism
All Jewish religious movements agree that a person may be a Jew either by birth or through conversion. According to halakha a Jew by birth must be born to a Jewish mother. Halakha states that the mere acceptance of the principles and practices of Judaism does not make a person a Jew. However, those born Jewish do not lose that status because they cease to be observant Jews, even if they adopt the practices of another religion.
Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism often accept a child as Jewish if only the father is Jewish. As the various denominations of Judaism differ on their conversion processes, conversions performed by more liberal denominations are not accepted by those that are less so.
Read more about this topic: Who Is A Jew?
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