What is a Jew?

One of the things I miss most from varsity days is hanging out at the mamak and discussing/debating about anything under the sun. Curiously enough, I have rediscovered that with the badminton gang at our weekly Thursday night mamak session.

Random conversation.

Moi: "So what is a Jew? Is it a religion or a group of people?"

BK: "It refers to a group of people."

Moi: "Really? It's not a religion? You mean as a Chinese, I cannot become a Jew?"

BK: "I don't think so."

Moi: "So what religion are Jews? I mean is there a name to the religion?"

BK shrugged.

Moi: "Judaism perhaps?"

BK: "Isn't Judaism a religion for Judas followers?"

Moi: "Err .. I have no idea."

OK. So this converging of minds didn't really work out. But curiousity got the better of me and here are some facts.

According to Wikipedia:

Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים, Yehudim; Yiddish: ייִדן, Yidn) are followers of Judaism or, more generally, members of the Jewish people (also known as the Jewish Nation, or the Children of Israel), an ethno-religious group descended from the ancient Israelites and from converts who joined their religion. The term also includes those who have undergone an officially recognized formal process of religious conversion to Judaism.

Judaism shares some of the characteristics of a nation, an ethnicity, a religion, and a culture, making the definition of who is a Jew vary slightly depending on whether a religious or national approach to identity is used. For discussions of the religious views on who is a Jew and how these views differ from each other, please see Who is a Jew?.

Generally, in modern secular usage, Jews include three groups:
1. people who practice Judaism and have a Jewish ethnic background (sometimes including those who do not have strictly matrilineal descent),
2. people without Jewish parents who have converted to Judaism; and
3. those Jews who, while not practicing Judaism as a religion, still identify themselves as Jewish by virtue of their family's Jewish descent and their own cultural and historical identification with the Jewish people.

Thus from the above definition I infer that I can become a Jew if I embrace Judaism.

Right?