Fandom&faith: Match The Celeb To Their Professed Spriritual Path
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Actress Isla Fisher recently converted to Judaism in order to marry her fiance _________________________, with whom she has a young daughter, Olive.
This week, The Other Journal posted Part One of a two-part interview Jeff Overstreet and I gave together about celebrity, fandom and faith. It was a look at the culture of celebrity and the intersection with voyeurism, identity and faith.
So you think you know a little something about celebrities and their professed religious traditions or spiritual paths?
Give it a go.
Prizes from the SWAG BAG go to the best scores, in order of submission.
(50).webp "Fandom&faith: Match The Celeb To Their Professed Spriritual Path - Quiz")
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- 2.
Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight K. Schrute on NBC's "The Office," is a practicing ___________.
Explanation
Rainn Wilson, who portrays Dwight K. Schrute on NBC's "The Office," is a practicing Baha'i. Baha'i is a religion that originated in the 19th century in Persia and emphasizes the unity of all religions and the equality of all people. Baha'is follow the teachings of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, and strive to promote peace, justice, and unity in the world. Rainn Wilson has been open about his Baha'i faith and has spoken about how it has influenced his life and career.Rate this question:
- 3.
President Barack Obama is a Muslim.
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. NoExplanation
Stop it.
He's a Christian already.
Jeez.Rate this question:
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- 4.
Writer/director/actor Harold Ramis - who will be reprising his role as Egon Spengler in the forthcoming Ghostbusters 3 movie - was raised Jewish home and even attended Yeshiva for a time. But he embraced Buddhist philosophy as an adult now refers to himself as "Buddh-ish."
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. YesExplanation
Yep. Harold even had Buddhism's four noble truths and eight-fold path printed like a Chinese takeout menu (and laminated, too!) to hand out to friends.
I still have one somewhere.Rate this question:
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- 5.
Uma Thurman's father used to be a Tibetan Buddhist monk?
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. YesExplanation
Uma Thurman's father, Robert Thurman, is indeed a former Tibetan Buddhist monk. Robert Thurman, an American professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, converted to Buddhism in the late 1960s and spent several years studying and practicing in India and Nepal. He later left the monkhood and became a renowned scholar and advocate for Tibetan Buddhism in the West. Uma Thurman, his daughter, has often spoken about her father's spiritual journey and the influence it had on her upbringing.Rate this question:
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- 6.
Know your converts! QUESTION NUMERO TRES.Sweet little Katie Holmes from Dawson's Creek is all growed up. Sadie Sadie Married Lady and the mother of the precociously adorable Suri Cruise. Katie is also a convert.Did she convert from:
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Lutheranism to Scientology?
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Southern Baptist to Scientologist?
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Unitarian to Scientologist?
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Roman Catholicism to Scientology?
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Dutch Reformed to Scientology?
Correct Answer
A. Roman Catholicism to Scientology? -
- 7.
Know your converts! QUESTION NUMERO DOSLegendary singer-songwriter and, perhaps, the coolest Canadian alive, Leonard Cohen is a convert. Did he convert from:
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Judaism to Evangelical Christianity?
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Judaism to Russian Orthodoxy?
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Judaism to Hare Krishna/Hinduism?
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Russian Orthodoxy to Judaism?
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Judaism to Buddhism?
Correct Answer
A. Judaism to Buddhism?Explanation
Leonard Cohen, the legendary singer-songwriter, converted from Judaism to Buddhism.Rate this question:
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- 8.
Jack Black and Michael Cera co-starred in Harold Ramis' film "Year One," which retold, with equal parts theological savvy and fart jokes, several stories from Hebrew scriptures, including Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac, and Sodom and Gomorrah. Both Black and Cera are Jewish.
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. NoExplanation
Jack Black is Jewish.
Michael Cera is not.Rate this question:
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- 9.
Madonna Ciccone was raised as a Roman Catholic (hence her first name.) About a decade ago, she began studying the Jewish mystical tradition called Kabbalah. She is quite devout, attending regular Shabbat services at the Kabbalah center. A few years back, she took, privately, the Hebrew name Ruth as a sign of her new faith.
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. NoExplanation
Esther, not Ruth.Rate this question:
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- 10.
Both the author Anne Rice and actor/writer/singer/performer/iconoclast Sandra Bernhard practice the faith in which they were raised. Rice is Roman Catholic and Bernhard is Jewish.
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. YesExplanation
The given statement is true. It states that both Anne Rice and Sandra Bernhard practice the faith in which they were raised. Anne Rice is a Roman Catholic and Sandra Bernhard is Jewish. This implies that both individuals continue to follow the religious beliefs and practices that were instilled in them during their upbringing.Rate this question:
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- 11.
Lama Surya Das, the author and celebrated Tibetan Buddhist lama, was born Jeffrey Keillor in the suburbs of Minneapolis.
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. NoExplanation
Oh ... so close!
Lama Surya Das' birth name was Jeffrey Miller and he was born on Long Island, New York.Rate this question:
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- 12.
Julia Roberts recently converted to Hinduism.
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. YesExplanation
While she was raised by a Catholic mother and a Baptist father, Roberts recently told Elle Magazine that her entire family - including husband Danny Molder and their three young children — attend services at a Hindu temple where they, "chant and pray and celebrate. I'm definitely a practicing Hindu," the actress said.Rate this question:
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- 13.
Jesus Clout: Part 1 of 2Which of the following 10 celebrities (in two parts) DID NOT it onto Beliefnet.com's 12 Most Powerful Christians in Hollywood list? (Hey, no cheating! Put that mouse down and step away from the Google.)
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Angela Bassett
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Denzel Washington
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Mel Gibson
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Kristin Chenoweth
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Stephen Baldwin
Correct Answer
A. Stephen BaldwinExplanation
Stephen Baldwin did not make it onto Beliefnet.com's 12 Most Powerful Christians in Hollywood list.Rate this question:
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- 14.
Annie Lennox was once married to a devout Zoroastrian?
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. NoExplanation
No Zoroastrians, but she was married briefly to a devout Hare Krishna.Rate this question:
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- 15.
Know your converts! QUESTION NUMERO UNO.In increasing numbers, Americans are switching from the religious tradition of their childhood to a different tradition altogether. Some of them even make more than one or two switches in their lifetime. Famed director, writer, actor and all-around funnyman Mel Brooks is a convert. Did he convert from:
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Eastern Orthodox Christianity to Anglicanism?
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Anglicanism to Judaism?
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Catholicism to Judaism?
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Judaism to Catholicism?
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Judaism to Unitarian Universalism?
Correct Answer
A. Judaism to Catholicism?Explanation
Mel Brooks converted from Judaism to Catholicism.Rate this question:
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- 16.
Jesus Freaks and Jesus FairweathersWhich of the following celebrities (of one flavor or another) have now, or at some point in their past, identified themselves publicly as "born-again" Christians?
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Bob Dylan
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David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz
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Jane Fonda
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Gary Busey
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George Foreman
Correct Answer(s)
A. Bob Dylan
A. David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz
A. Jane Fonda
A. Gary Busey
A. George ForemanExplanation
Yep. All of 'em.Rate this question:
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- 17.
Shana Tova!Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, was celebrated this week.Which of the following celebrities is Jewish?
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Woody Allen
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Norman Jewison
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Jenna Elfman
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Goldie Hawn
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Whoopi Goldberg
Correct Answer(s)
A. Woody Allen
A. Goldie HawnExplanation
Woody Allen and Goldie Hawn are both Jewish celebrities. This is evident from their Jewish heritage and their identification with the Jewish community.Rate this question:
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- 18.
Bono of U2 was raised in a "mixed" marriage in Dublin, Ireland.His mother was Catholic and his father was Protestant.
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Yes
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No
Correct Answer
A. NoExplanation
Nope. Other way around. Bob Hewson was Catholic. Iris Rankin Hewson was Protestant. Bono and his brother, Norman, were raised attending their mother's Church of Ireland (i.e. Anglican) church, while Bob went to Mass up the hill.Rate this question:
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- 19.
Islam has also been making headlines this week, with the ongoing controversy over a proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero in New York City, and with the wackadoodle pastor in Gainesville, Florida who caused an international incident when he announced plans to burn 200 copies of the Qur'an, the Islamic holy book, on the anniversary of 9/11 this year. Nutter. So...Which of the following artists and actors is a Muslim?
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Mos Def
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Cat Stevens
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Tyler Perry
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Richard Thompson
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Matisyahu
Correct Answer(s)
A. Mos Def
A. Cat Stevens
A. Richard ThompsonExplanation
The correct answer is Mos Def, Cat Stevens, and Richard Thompson. Mos Def, also known as Yasiin Bey, is a rapper and actor who converted to Islam. Cat Stevens, also known as Yusuf Islam, is a singer-songwriter who converted to Islam in the late 1970s. Richard Thompson is a British musician who converted to Islam in the early 2000s. These artists and actors have publicly identified themselves as Muslims.Rate this question:
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- 20.
Jesus Clout: Part 2 of 2Which of the following celebrities did NOT make it onto Beliefnet.com's 12 Most Powerful Christians in Hollywood list?
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Miley Cyrus
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Kirk Cameron
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Martin Sheen
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Patricia Heaton
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Tyler Perry
Correct Answer(s)
A. Miley Cyrus
A. Kirk CameronExplanation
OK, Miley was a trick question. We'll give it to you either way - she made a runner-up list of a handful of "Up-and-Coming" Christians with clout in Hollywood, along with Sherri Shepherd of "The View" and our beloved Tony Hale - aka Buster Bluth on the late-great "Arrested Development."Rate this question:
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Current Version
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Jun 27, 2023Quiz Edited by
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Sep 10, 2010Quiz Created by
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