Sydney Sweeney, Judaism, and the Freedom of Faith

Sydney Sweeney, the actress who seems to be right up there among the internet’s favorite subject for outrage these days, was reportedly spotted at Rosh Hashanah services at a Greenwich, Connecticut, synagogue with her boyfriend, music executive Scooter Braun. Within hours, gossip spread of a conversion to Judaism, and the commentariat duly rained on the parade.This past week, Sweeney’s religious curiosity has been treated as a publicity stunt, a betrayal, and a loss of agency. However, attending a temple service does not mean adopting that faith. A person may sit in a house of worship for any number of reasons. One could be to support their significant other in their devotion. If Sweeney is indeed studying Judaism, that is her business, her rabbi’s, and, one assumes, her family’s.But the notion that this is some strange new spectacle ignores a long tradition among a subset of the American elite. Prominent glamorous women have been converting to Judaism for decades.Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller at their wedding, from the May 1961 issue of TV-Radio Mirror. Via Wikimedia CommonsConsider Marilyn Monroe, who converted in 1956 ahead of her marriage to the playwright Arthur Miller. The press was curious about that switch, too. Yet by most accounts her attachment to Judaism was real, and she appears to have stayed personally attached to the faith for the rest of her short life. Elizabeth Taylor converted in 1959, shortly before marrying Eddie Fisher, taking the Hebrew name Elisheva Rachel, and remained connected to the faith. Over the decades, she became one of the most dependable allies of Jewish causes in Hollywood.Closer to our own time, Ivanka Trump converted in 2009 before marrying Jared Kushner and her family have observed the faith since then. Ms. Trump’s sister-in-law, model Karlie Kloss, also converted to marry Jared’s brother, businessman and investor Joshua Kushner and has subsequently spoken about the meaning Judaism and Shabbat have brought to her life. More recently, Sofia Richie, daughter of music legend Lionel Richie, publicly announced her conversion to Judaism prior to her marriage to music executive Elliot Grainge.Faith is a sensitive matter of the soul, and it is unfair for anyone to speculate on the motives behind someone’s religious discernment, even if it is partially for love. My fiancée influenced me to revert to Catholicism after years of passive engagement. Does that mean I am oppressed? Sydney Sweeney is a Hollywood powerhouse who has amassed a fortune from her various commercial and creative pursuits. I think she is sufficiently empowered to make up her own mind about her religious orientation. Sydney Sweeney attends Lionsgate’s premiere of “The Housemaid” on December 15, 2025 at Los Angeles. Monica Schipper/Getty ImagesReligious freedom is also a central pillar of our republic and of Western civilization. That Ms. Sweeney is considering embracing one of the great Abrahamic faiths that have long shaped our Judeo-Christian society is itself a testament to religion’s enduring value. The secularization of culture has coincided with many ills: Family breakdown, atomization and loneliness, destructive sexual ethics, and more.Taking a religious stand of any kind is a radical act in Hollywood, an industry where immorality is hardly shrouded in secrecy. It would be a good thing if Sydney Sweeney helped to buck that trend. Yet since many continue to question Ms. Sweeney’s seriousness and sincerity, it is worth stating that conversion to Judaism is intentionally rigorous. Judaism does not seek recruits, typically requiring prospective converts to demonstrate a sustained commitment. It is unlikely that one converts to Judaism to wear it as a costume or to shut up a pestering boyfriend who perhaps might desire a unified household. No doubt the presence of Mr. Braun partly accounts for the silly scrutiny. He has been villainized by Swifties ever since Taylor Swift accused him of preventing her from owning the masters to her songs. Their dispute centered on the 2019 sale of Big Machine Label Group, which gave Mr. Braun’s Ithaca Holdings control of the masters to Ms. Swift’s first six studio albums, a sale the singer strongly opposed. Such arrangements are hardly unusual in the music business, as Mr. Braun explained in an interview with the Free Press. But many of Ms. Swift’s fans still cling to their ill-informed grievance, convinced that he stole the intellectual property of a record-breaking female artist and sought to suppress her success. Scooter Braun attends the 2024 ADL ‘In Concert Against Hate’ at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on November 18, 2024 in Washington, DC. Via Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation LeagueWith conspiracies still swirling that Ms. Sweeney is essentially an anti-feminist MAGA surrogate, she and Mr. Braun were doomed to become entertainment’s hated power couple du jour. That they are rumored to be sealing the deal, which may include Ms. Sweeney’s conversion, only adds insult to injury for their detractors. Sydney Sweeney owes the world neither an announcement nor an explanation. Her spiritual life is private, a matter between her and her God, particularly if she chooses to join a faith that doesn’t actively proselytize or seek converts. If she does not convert, she will have simply attended some services with someone she was dating. If she does, she would both join a distinguished company in Hollywood history and affirm a sacred tradition in America — the free exercise of religious liberty.

Sydney Sweeney, Judaism, and the Freedom of Faith

Sydney Sweeney, Judaism, and the Freedom of Faith

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