Jon Stewart, Secular Jew
Posted at 9:53 am on Thursday, July 2, 2009, in Theism, and tagged huffington post, jon stewart, stephen colbert.
A long, long time ago (July aught-six), on a blog called DCeiver — run by a person now reporting for the Huffington Post — Jason Linkins wrote that he was the “only one who got Stephen Colbert’s best joke” that evening…
“Wow. Bill Donoghue really opened my eyes. I had no idea that secular Jews were keeping Catholics down. Food for thought.” — Steven Colbert, a Catholic
I admit, I didn’t get it, so I commented…
Okay, I’m thinking… “secular Jew.” Is that the joke?
Linkins replied… “Stephen Colbert wasn’t exactly ‘kept down’ by secular Jews, now, was he? One might suggest that Colbert has had a great deal of support from people who fit Donoghue’s definition of ‘secular Jew.’ There is one guy in particular who sort of springs to mind…”
And I commented…
Oh boy, am I slow.
Here is my question: When does a secularist drop the religious affiliation that follows? (e.g., when does a “secular Jew” become a “secularist?”)
Does Stewart really believe in the biblical teachings? I have thought that Stewart has been using his Jewish heritage as a punchline, and that he has disavowed of the faith. But the Colbert line is funny, nonetheless.
[...]
Stewart comes across as an atheist (or agnostic) to me, but that may just be his television persona. Who knows what he truly believes? Maybe Larry King does.
Linkins replied, “As for Stewart, I was under the impression that he was a typical Reform Jew. But, fuck, what do I know?”
Yes, I thought that this was “good enough” to share.
No related posts.
July 4th, 2009 at 11:20 am
Jewishness is not just a religion; it is also a culture and, for lack of a better term, an ethnicity. Think of “secular Jew” as being more parallel to “secular Frenchman” and less like “secular Catholic.”
I am not attempting to define Jon Stewart’s religion, just pointing out that whatever it is, he continues to be a Jew in the other senses.