what are the major religions practiced in israel?
Judaism
entailment
 The Jewish people and the religion of Judaism are strongly interrelated . Converts to Judaism typically have a status within the Jewish ethnos equal to those born into it . Conversion is not encouraged by mainstream Judaism , and is considered a difficult task . A significant portion of conversions are undertaken by children of mixed marriages , or by would @-@ be or current spouses of Jews . 

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 There is no single governing body for the Jewish community , nor a single authority with responsibility for religious doctrine . Instead , a variety of secular and religious institutions at the local , national , and international levels lead various parts of the Jewish community on a variety of issues . 

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 The Jews ( / dʒuːz / ; Hebrew : יְהוּדִים ISO 259 @-@ 3 Yehudim , Israeli pronunciation [ jehuˈdim ] ) , also known as the Jewish people , are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites , or Hebrews , of the Ancient Near East . Jewish ethnicity , nationhood and religion are strongly interrelated , as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation , while its observance varies from strict observance to complete nonobservance . 

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 The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2010 were the Roman Catholic Church ( 4 @,@ 673 @,@ 500 ) ; the Southern Baptist Convention ( 3 @,@ 721 @,@ 318 ) ; the United Methodist Church with ( 1 @,@ 035 @,@ 168 ) ; and Islam ( 421 @,@ 972 ) . 

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 The Hebrew Bible , a religious interpretation of the traditions and early national history of the Jews , established the first of the Abrahamic religions , which are now practiced by 54 % of the world . Judaism guides its adherents in both practice and belief , and has been called not only a religion , but also a " way of life , " which has made drawing a clear distinction between Judaism , Jewish culture , and Jewish identity rather difficult . Throughout history , in eras and places as diverse as the ancient Hellenic world , in Europe before and after The Age of Enlightenment ( see Haskalah ) , in Islamic Spain and Portugal , in North Africa and the Middle East , India , China , or the contemporary United States and Israel , cultural phenomena have developed that are in some sense characteristically Jewish without being at all specifically religious . Some factors in this come from within Judaism , others from the interaction of Jews or specific communities of Jews with their surroundings , others from the inner social and cultural dynamics of the community , as opposed to from the religion itself . This phenomenon has led to considerably different Jewish cultures unique to their own communities . 
