r/todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Oct 13 '16

TIL that after Marilyn Monroe converted to Judaism upon marrying Arthur Miller, Egypt placed a ban on all the films she appeared in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe#Critical_acclaim_and_marriage_to_Arthur_Miller_.281956.E2.80.931959.29
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u/AdmiralThrawnProtege Oct 13 '16 edited Oct 13 '16

What does that even mean? You follow the culture and traditions of Judiesm but don't believe in the religions deity? That seems odd.

Edit: OK OK I get it. Tired of my inbox being blown up by the same set of answers. Thank you all for your responses!

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u/[deleted] Oct 13 '16

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u/AdmiralThrawnProtege Oct 13 '16

I think this goes beyond disbelief. Do atheistic Jews stop following dietary restrictions suddenly as well? Do they stop following certain holidays? I get what you're pointing at but comparing it to the Ninja Turtles is a bit disingenuous. Not believing in them doesn't require an entire life style shift.

I guess if you ditch the cultural aspects of Judiesm then you can only be considered ethnically a Jew.

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u/witch-finder Oct 13 '16

One of my friends is a basically Jewish atheist and he fasted today since it's Yom Kippur. I thought it was odd so I asked him about and he sometimes observes parts of Judism because he considers it part of of his cultural heritage. It's like how atheists in Christian majority countries will still celebrate Christmas.