# How many generations before someone ceases to be considered Jewish?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-before-someone-ceases-to-be-considered-jewish/635512>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 22, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-before-someone-ceases-to-be-considered-jewish/635512 "2012-09-22T17:25:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-before-someone-ceases-to-be-considered-jewish/635512/61 "2012-09-24T20:54:38Z")

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> [@AK84](#):
>
> **Hari Seldon** raises an interesting point. Any idea when this matrilinial decent was formalised? I wonder if this was done to prevent marriages outside the fold so to speak. If you go by paternal decent then a man can marry out and no problem. If you limit it to the maternal line, then you have a situation where a man is forced to marry within if he wishes his children to be considered “of the people”.

Cultural anthropologists have spent no small amount of effort attempting to figure out why any particular group uses matrilineal vs patrilineal descent. [Some work](http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/270/1532/2425.short) focuses on the influence of being primarily pastoral vs primarily agricultural. Pastoralists tend to be patrilineal and agriculturally predominant groups tend to be matrilineal. Given that variation among tribal cultures the simple explanation that one must know who the mama is, or limiting marrying out, seem untenable. The Israelites were however primarily agriculturalists.

Once again this aspect of identity has little to do with religion; it is about tribal identity, being a member of the tribe not just as a slang expression but in a very real sense.

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**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\
**Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-generations-before-someone-ceases-to-be-considered-jewish/635512/62 "2012-09-24T22:16:16Z")

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“You can think and act like a gentile, until a gentile reminds you that you are a Jew.”

Old bitter saying.

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