Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek kryptos - κρυπτός, 'hidden'). The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendants of Jews who maintain some Jewish traditions of their ancestors while publicly adhering to other faiths.
The term is especially applied historically to European Jews who—outwardly or forcedly—professed Catholicism, who were also known as Anusim or Marrano. The phenomenon is especially associated with renaissance Spain, following the June 6, 1391, Anti-Jewishpogroms and the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 unless they converted. Later under its Blood Purity Laws, Spain restricted explorers and settlers in the New World to "Old Christians" of three generations or more.
Europe
Officially, Jews who converted in Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries were known as Cristianos Nuevos (New Christians), but were commonly called conversos. Spain and Portugal passed legislation restricting their rights in the mother countries and colonies; only Christians were allowed to go to the New World. Despite the dangers of the Inquisition, many conversos continued to secretly and discreetly practice Jewish rituals.
... traditions, such as with Easter bunnies and Santa Claus, and a troubling history of antisemitism — resulting in the adoption of Crypto-Judaism, forced conversions, expulsion, and even death.
As leader of the community, Barros Basto became aware of the existence of Marranos, Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity in the Middle Ages but continued to practice some form of Judaism in secret.
I went to see the “Auschwitz. Not Long Ago ... 15 ... This thinking would lead to forced conversions of Jews and Conversos and Crypto-Judaism — the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith ... Here is an excerpt.
However others still practised Judaism in secret and became known as crypto-Jews, whose prayerbooks were Latin on the outside but Hebrew on the inside, making them a threat to the Spanish Crown.
... practice of public punishment, typically ritual execution) to Sicily, accusing the anusim of practicing crypto-Judaism and of “Judaizing.” The 2002 article “Auto de Fe in Palermo, 1511.
... believed that Jews and Donmes – or ‘crypto-Jews’ whose ancestors had converted to Christianity but who continued to practice the rituals of Judaism in secret – controlled the Turkish government.
López – who was from a family of conversos, or Jews who had converted to Catholicism – fled to Rome to escape accusations of crypto-Judaism, or secretly maintaining his ancestral religion.
Melendez’s ancestors were crypto-Jews from Spain who practiced Judaism in secret to avoid persecution during the Inquisition and afterward ... Doja Cat. (credit ... RELATED ... JTA ... JV ... There’s Benjamin Melendez, who’s a Puerto Rican crypto-Jew ... .
(New YorkJewish Week) — In the late 1960s, the Bronx was at war ... Melendez’s ancestors were crypto-Jews from Spain who practiced Judaism in secret to avoid persecution during the Inquisition and afterward ... RELATED ... JTA ... JV ... He was Uncle Benjy to them ... .
... with the Catholic religion, and in exploring their families’ pasts, learned that they were descended from crypto-Jews, who pretended to be Catholic, but who practiced their Judaism in secret.
We are here to learn about New Mexico’s Converso and Crypto-Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition. (Conversos were forced to convert to Christianity; Crypto-Jews have kept their Judaism a secret for centuries.).
We are here to learn about New Mexico’s Converso and Crypto-Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition. (Conversos were forced to convert to Christianity; Crypto-Jews have kept their Judaism a secret for centuries.).
Cleveland Jewish News
01 Sep 2023
Cleveland Jewish News
01 Sep 2023