Choosing Faith, Inheriting Religion: Personal Status Law in Israel and the Identity Struggle of Arabic-Speaking Evangelicals

Abstract This article examines the complex negotiation of religious identity among Arabic-speaking Evangelicals in Israel, focusing on their struggle for official recognition as a religious community. In Israel, religious communities are responsible for personal status law, making affiliation with a recognized religious community essential. Civil marriage is unavailable. While Evangelicals theologically reject the notion of being Christian by birth rather than by personal faith, they must navigate a legal system that fundamentally contradicts their self-understanding. Through fieldwork conducted in Nazareth, this study analyzes how the Convention of Evangelical Churches in Israel, established in 2005, pursues official recognition while grappling with theological tensions. Despite distancing themselves rhetorically from “traditional” Christianity, Evangelicals pragmatically adopt many of its elements. This reveals how the prevailing religious framework in Israel – a reinvention of the Ottoman millet system by British colonial authorities, and continued by Israel – continues to shape Christian identity beyond individual faith convictions.