George Alexander Trebek, popularly known as Alex Trebek, was a top-rated Canadian-American television personality and host. He was widely recognized for his hosting skills in the classic game show ‘Jeopardy!’—hosted the show for 37 seasons.

The Sudbury native, Trebek, took the responsibility of hosting, maybe the biggest achievement of his career, Jeopardy!, in 1984 and continued with the responsibility until his last breath. The renowned TV host died on November 8, 2020, at 80 due to pancreatic cancer.

However, in his life span of 80 years, Trebek did not only rejoice the love, support, and affection from the public; he had to face some controversies due to his statements as well. They mainly consisted of jokes on the Catholic Church. Moreover, the gossips were so high that people even began questioning his religion. So, is Alex Trebek A Christain? Or is Alex Trebek Jewish? Let's find out!

How Did The Religious Controversies Start?

The controversies regarding the renowned late game show host’s religion began on October 2, 2018, when he delivered a strange speech at the PA. Governor Debate. During his speech—which he meant as a joke—he said that there is only one institution with the lowest approval ratings than the Pennsylvania Legislature, and that is the Catholic church.

However, Trebek’s joke wasn’t taken lightly by the audiences present at the event and even by the public. He was constantly booed. Things got even worse when he said that some Catholic priests minister to their congregations without even preying on the young people. After those statements, people started to create rumors and even raise questions regarding his religion.

Alex Trebek while delivering speech at the Pa. Governer Debate

Alex Trebek while delivering a speech at the PA. Governor Debate on October 2, 2018 (Source: Pennlive.com)

During his time as the Jeopardy host, Trebek adored the Jewish contestants and even confronted several Jewish moments. In January 2020, a new story arose after a contestant of Jeopardy! was told that she was wrong for answering Jesus’s birthplace as Palestine—which is correct. In fact, when another contestant told that Jesus’s birthplace Bethelem lies in Isreal, the host admitted it as the correct answer, thus questioning his Christian knowledge even more.

The rumors and controversies were further fueled in July 2020 when his new memoir named ‘The Answer Is ... Reflections on My Life’ was released. In it, he admitted that he is neither afraid of death nor believes in a particular God or afterlife.

Alex Trebek Has Always Been A Christian, Not A Jewish

The eight-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, late Alex Trebek, was always a Christian since his childhood. As a teenager, he had even attended a Catholic boarding school run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. There, he spent three long years learning different things from 44 different priests.

Moreover, on March 4, 2020, when he was still battling cancer, Jeopardy!’s official Twitter account released a video in which he spoke about many things with his beloved fans. In the video, Trebek stated that if he had lost hope, then it would be a betrayal to his wife, Jean Currivan Trebek, who always supported him, a betrayal to all the other cancer patients who have regarded him as an inspiration, and a betrayal to all the millions of prayers from his fans.

While concluding the video, he further added that the most important betrayal would be his faith's betrayal towards the almighty God. This clearly shows that he does, in fact, believe in God.