Bernie Sanders was born into a working-class Jewish family and raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. He attended Brooklyn College before graduating from the University of Chicago in 1964. While a student, he was a protest organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the civil rights movement. Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist and is often seen as a leader of the progressive movement in the United States. He has a close relationship with the Democratic Party, having caucused with House and Senate Democrats for most of his congressional career and emerging as a key ally of President Joe Biden.

Sanders has rarely talked about religion, and he can be impatient with reporters who try to delve into his Jewish background. Though raised Jewish, Sanders says that he is “not particularly religious,” nor is he a member of any congregation or synagogue. However, he has spoken of his belief in God on numerous occasions and has said that he has very strong religious and spiritual feelings. The Sanders campaign has said he is not an atheist.

In summary, Bernie Sanders was born into a Jewish family and has spoken of his belief in God on numerous occasions, but he is not particularly religious and is not a member of any congregation or synagogue.