just a few more words on this subject of “tinok shenishba”. If my memory serves me correctly, the main aspect whether one is or not such a one would be irrelevant today as it has to do with the chiyuv of a korban after an aveirah “beshoggeg”. I will have to refresh my memory and look again in Shabbos perek klal godol.
So, there is “practical” issue today and it is just an expression to indentify people who are not responsible for their desecration of the halacha. There is, of course, a major difference in such a case, whether one has knowledge of the actual halacha or not. “Tinok shenishba” is deemed to have no knowledge and hence, no responsibility.
I couched it in the language of ‘chumro and kuloh” ,although it might not exactly fit the meaning, to show that there are people today (and ,to my mind, unfortunately, rabbonim) who instinctively dismiss a so-called lenient or all-inclusiver approach. That was my purpose in describing the difference between accepting every child with no jewish education and to contrast this to the harsher approach that dismisses out of hand anyone who does not fit in their meaning of “jewish identity”.
For the record, there is absolutely as much validity to a lenient view as to a harsher view.As a matter of fact “koach dehetaira odif”. finding leniencies is the ‘stronger’ (better) approach. oomis1005 is right.