My dad was raised Catholic, my mom was raised a barely practicing Reform Jew (her mother is an Italian Sephardi immigrant but keeps few Sephardi traditions). They joined a UU Church in the 80's and my sister and I attended UU Sunday School all our lives, while attending the Reform Temple on the High Holidays and hosting Passover seders and Chanukah parties. My mom identifies as a Jew but she loves the UU Church. I used to identify as a "Jewish Universalist" and even wore a chalice and a Magen David around my neck when I was a teen. I was always interested in exploring Judiasm and did some reading on my own, but never really became engaged in a Jewish community while growing up. The UU community I was a part of was warm and welcoming, while frankly the Reform community seemed pretty cold, materialistic, conservative, and uninviting. I do think that many culturally/ethnically Jewish folks become involved in UU life because they cannot find any vibrant, progressive Jewish communities in their area. In college and beyond I found liberal Jewish communities where people were more warm and there was more space for difficult questions, even about Israel/Palestine issues, and now I identify solely as a Reconstructionist Jew though I still believe UU principles and mostly do not keep Halakhah. Anyways...I definitely identify as a Jew when I enter a synagogue, and my sister and my mother do too, but there are definitely times when I feel more comfortable in a more pluralistic setting. In Jewish settings I sometimes feel like an outsider for being raised in a working class town with no other Jews, and for asking radical questions about Israel/Palestine, but in UU settings my Jewish identiy can also make me feel like an outsider (like when the minister wants me to light a chanukiah on a Sunday morning three weeks after Chanukah is over just because it coincides with the Christmas service). Honestly, I guess I feel most comfortable with "half-Jews" or Jews who have had a lot of interaction/exposure to non-Jews. Basically I feel like a little bit of an outsider in most religious settings. But I think my outsider status can give me a unique perspective on both Judaism, UU'ism, and to a lesser extent, Catholicism. It even led me to major in Religion in college.
Maybe I can answer your question...
My dad was raised Catholic, my mom was raised a barely practicing Reform Jew (her mother is an Italian Sephardi immigrant but keeps few Sephardi traditions). They joined a UU Church in the 80's and my sister and I attended UU Sunday School all our lives, while attending the Reform Temple on the High Holidays and hosting Passover seders and Chanukah parties. My mom identifies as a Jew but she loves the UU Church. I used to identify as a "Jewish Universalist" and even wore a chalice and a Magen David around my neck when I was a teen. I was always interested in exploring Judiasm and did some reading on my own, but never really became engaged in a Jewish community while growing up. The UU community I was a part of was warm and welcoming, while frankly the Reform community seemed pretty cold, materialistic, conservative, and uninviting. I do think that many culturally/ethnically Jewish folks become involved in UU life because they cannot find any vibrant, progressive Jewish communities in their area.
In college and beyond I found liberal Jewish communities where people were more warm and there was more space for difficult questions, even about Israel/Palestine issues, and now I identify solely as a Reconstructionist Jew though I still believe UU principles and mostly do not keep Halakhah.
Anyways...I definitely identify as a Jew when I enter a synagogue, and my sister and my mother do too, but there are definitely times when I feel more comfortable in a more pluralistic setting. In Jewish settings I sometimes feel like an outsider for being raised in a working class town with no other Jews, and for asking radical questions about Israel/Palestine, but in UU settings my Jewish identiy can also make me feel like an outsider (like when the minister wants me to light a chanukiah on a Sunday morning three weeks after Chanukah is over just because it coincides with the Christmas service). Honestly, I guess I feel most comfortable with "half-Jews" or Jews who have had a lot of interaction/exposure to non-Jews.
Basically I feel like a little bit of an outsider in most religious settings. But I think my outsider status can give me a unique perspective on both Judaism, UU'ism, and to a lesser extent, Catholicism. It even led me to major in Religion in college.