Madonnahas dismissed ongoing reports suggesting she has converted to Judaism, insisting she has connections to all religions.
The pop superstar grew up Catholic, but she has been a devout follower of ancient Kabbalah studies for much of her career, prompting many to believe she’s a practicing Jew. But she insists that’s not the case.
In a new Rolling Stone expose, the “Like a Virgin” singer says, “I don’t affiliate myself with any specific group. I connect to different ritual aspects of different belief systems, and I see the connecting thread between all religious beliefs. I have not converted to Judaism.
“I’ve studied Kabbalah… for many years, so there are a lot of things I do that one would associate with practising Judaism. I hear the Torah (Jewish written law) every Saturday. I observe Shabbat (Jewish day of rest). I say certain prayers. My son was bar mitzvahed (sic). So this appears like I’m Jewish, but these rituals are connected to what I describe as the Tree of Life consciousness and have more to do with the idea of being an Israelite, not Jewish.
“The tribes of Israel existed before the religion of Judaism existed, so you have to do your history… Am I Jewish? I mean, some people would say, ‘Well, you do a lot of things that Jews do’, but I would say I do a lot of things that people did before Judaism existed… I believe what I practice has to do with something deeper than religion, that embodies all religions.”
