Israel Religion and Beliefs
The subject of Israel religion has much to do with traveling to the country since the religion plays a significant role in the culture and the identity of Israel. This is a broad subject that stretches outside the limit of my travel site – so I’ll only give you the raw data here. Israel is most identified as being the country of the Jewish people and looking at the numbers you can quickly realize that it is largely so. Over 75% of the population is considered Jewish. While the country is recognized as the Jewish state it still allows for freedom of religion per law. So if you are a Buddhist, a Rastafarian or whatever and want to practice your religion in Israel – just do it! Islam is common to about 16% of the population – most all of the Arab citizens of Israel are Muslims. However, some of them are Christian and together with other non-Arab Jesus followers a total of 2% of the population are Christians. Yes that’s right despite the fact that Jesus was born lived and is buried in the country – only a small % of the population is composed of Christians. JudaismWhile there are still more Jewish people in the U.S than anywhere else in the world, Israel is the only country that has a majority of Jews. In America the Jews divide into the Orthodox, Reform and conservative movements in Judaism. Unlike America in Israel people define their Jewish identity based on the degree to which they observe Judaism in their daily routine. I will try to keep the distinctions simple:About half the Jewish people in Israel consider themselves secular – they do not follow Judaism to any large degree. However these people usually celebrate the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana), Passover and other major religious holidays. Most all of them circumcise their new born boys and celebrate Bar Mitzva at age 13. However they don’t keep the Sabbath or follow many other Jewish traditions. About 30% of Israelis are “traditional” in their own eyes and observe Judaism to varied degrees. All of the “traditional” Jews in Israel keep Kosher for example, unlike some of the secular Israelis who won’t necessarily keep kosher. About 10% are religious and keep the Sabbath and follow most all of the religious practices – such as praying 3 times a day. You can usually recognize the men as they will wear a little hat called Yarmulke (Kipa in Hebrew) at all times… except when they shower or such… The rest 10% are hard core Jews known as Haredim. They are super Orthodox and observe and dedicate their lives to the religion. The men always wear black clothing and a black hat. They tend to live in separate neighborhoods in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the country. 
A Haredi (very religious) Jewish person IslamMost Arab Israeli citizens are Muslims. Most of them practice the Sunni version of Islam. The Muslims in Israel are free to practice their religion and teach it in schools and universities. Israel religion ministry recognizes the Waqf (the Muslim administration for holy sites) and allows it the authority in managing Muslim holy sites such as the Dome of the Rock and its next door neighbor the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israel Religion - A Muslim girl Christianity
Under the heading of Israel religion Christianity has plenty to offer as far as holy sites, important churches and places of interest.However, only 2% of the people in Israel practice Christianity. Most of those are Arabs and the rest are immigrants who came to live and work in the Land of the Bible. In recent years there are increasing numbers of Christians due to the foreign workers coming to work in Israel from the Philippines and other predominantly Christian countries. In the picture: a Christian Arab with his baby in church during Christmas time. Other Israel religions and beliefsOther religions that can be found in Israel include the Druze, the Baha’i faith, a small number of Buddhists and a few other much smaller religions.Return from Israel Religion to my Israel Facts page Return to the Home Page |