i like bill maher but why does he keep

[Hekate]

23. Judaism is not just a religion, but an ethnic heritage with tribal elements

That can be confusing to Americans, who tend to believe that you can always choose your religion, or change your religion, whatever. Christianity has always, from the beginning, been about saying "I believe," regardless of personal/familial/ethnic heritage. Some branches require learning to recite a catechism, but American Protestantism in particular hardly even requires close study of the Bible, just baptism and "I believe."

Jews believe they are born Jews, and that is who/what they remain regardless of whether or not they become atheists, fail to keep kosher, or study Buddhism (American Buddhism has a vibrant strain of scholarship and writing by Jews). The "law" that makes being a Jew linked to one's mother is a religious/tribal law and has nothing to do with secular laws, anti-semitism, or Hitler.

My husband will never say he is not Jewish, regardless of how far he drifts from the tradition. What he studies, though, is Buddhism.