Doesn’t matter. A non-Jew could get hold of a copy of the TANACH and read it. Still not a Jew. I could get hold of a copy of a medical book and hold forth on heart surgery. Doesn’t make me a doctor. A genuine Jew, born of a Jewish mother, who does not observe Jewish law is nevertheless regarded as fully Jewish and we pray for the day that they come to the conclusion that they SHOULD be observing the laws.
A genuine Jew, born of a Jewish mother? Why is it in the Torah that lineage is traced through the paternal side but modern Jews trace it through the maternal side?