A few weeks ago an issue that had been running through my head came up in the most unlikely of situations.

I was sitting in the audience for a performance of the Vagina Monologues in Schwab Auditorium when a woman came onto the stage to introduce the show by discussing the various women Eve Ensler spoke with while writing the monologues.

"I talked to old women, young women, married women ... African American women, Hispanic women, Asian-American women, Native American women, Caucasian women, Jewish women," she said.

Wait a second. Something didn't sound right. When did Judaism become a race? I was under the impression that it was a religion.

Yet, she did not say she spoke to Catholic, Protestant and Jewish women, it was that she spoke to Asian, Hispanic and Jewish women.

Why would Judaism be grouped with races and not with other religions?

I'd always assumed that Santa skipped over my house simply because I didn't believe in him, not because he was racist against a specific ethnic group.

I believe that religion and race are two separate aspects of one's culture. It is not my intention to pick on Judaism itself, but rather to explore the thin line between race and religion, which seems to be thinnest with Judaism over other religions.

Race is a difficult term to define. For the purpose of this column, I will use the most general and simple definition: Race is a geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.

It is not my intention to simplify a complicated issue, but rather to have a basic definition with which to work.

I asked my friends what they thought of the race/religion issue. My inquiry lead me to my roommate's friend who met an Israeli soldier several years ago in South America.

He said the soldier saw religion and race as two separate issues that should not be treated as the same thing. Yes, he was Israeli, but he did not affiliate himself as being Jewish, and it bothered him that he was seen as such simply because he was Israeli.

He fought in the Israeli army for his country and its people -- not because he was Jewish, but because he was Israeli.

A popular comment against my argument was that in the case of Judaism, it is not simply a religion but a culture. To me, even if Judaism is considered a culture, in today's society one born into a Jewish family who does not affiliate with the culture is still labeled a Jew simply because his or her ancestors were, which leads to the important issue of race.

I do not deny my roots or what my ancestors went through. I understand that they were persecuted for their beliefs, but this does not mean that I necessarily must share the same beliefs just because I am descended from them.

The oddest argument I heard while discussing this was that there is such a thing as an atheist Jew. This concept completely dumbfounds me. I think that Judaism, like all religions, is something people can choose to believe in, and an atheist obviously does not believe in Judaism.

I do not belong to a synagogue nor have I stepped foot in one in nearly a decade. I do not celebrate any holidays at all, and so I do not consider myself Jewish or of any religion really. I simply don't understand how someone can argue that despite this I am still Jewish.

I believe religion is stronger than an ethnic tie. Religion is not in one's blood but rather in one's mind and soul; it would be an insult to those of a religion if someone who does not believe called his or herself a member of that religion simply because his or her ancestors were. Through my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that Judaism, just like Buddhism and Catholicism, is a religion.

It is the beliefs and practices of a group of people, not a specific bloodline.

Much like all Catholics do not share the same physical characteristics, not all Jews share the same characteristics.

Race is something relating to blood and DNA, and the DNA of a Jewish American is the same as that of a non-Jewish American. There is no religion gene.

I'm tired of people telling me that I'm Jewish just because my grandparents were. Don't I get to decide for myself what to believe in?

Many people disagree with their parents on certain issues, so I don't understand why I'm expected to have the same ideas that they have concerning spirituality.

I suppose what I'm saying is: Am I destined to be an agnostic Jew forever?