Answer: No
Disclaimer: It is not our role to determine whether or not somebody is a Christian. We just use our discernment based on the evidence we have found on the internet to come to a likely or best-guess answer. Our answers do not actually determine who is or is not a Christian and it is ultimately between the person and God. Not us.
Alex Trebek, full name George Alexander Trebek was born on 22nd July 1940 and died on 8th November 2020. He was a Canadian who later acquired American citizenship in 1998.
Alex was a television personality and a game show host. He was the host of the Jeopardy Quiz Game show created by Merv Griffin. Trebek had hosted other shows including “The Wizard of Odds, Double Dare, High Rollers, Battlestars, Classic Concentration, and To Tell the Truth”.
Before his death on 8th November 2020, Alex Trebek had received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host 8 times. Trebek died of stage IV pancreatic cancer at the age of 80.
Alex Trebek largely used to keep his faith and religion to himself, though he once admitted that he was raised a Catholic and used to attend Mass every Sunday as a kid. In another statement in his memoir, he said that he doesn’t believe in a particular God, and this has made people doubt his status as a Christian. This article seeks to answer the question: Is Alex Trebek a Christian?
Is Alex Trebek Religious?
Nothing much has been said about Alex Trebek’s religious life, but he has said that he was raised a Catholic Christian and attended church every Sunday.
In a conversation with The Vulture, New York in 2018, Alex Trebek said, “Who would your dream Jeopardy! contestant be? I used to say, Kevin Spacey. He’s bright, and there would be so many funny moments because of all his great impressions. But now you can’t say that. So to answer your question: the pope. I was raised Catholic”.
In the same interview when he was asked what he would ask the Pope, he replied, “Why aren’t you making more changes in the Catholic Church?”
He was further asked the question, “What changes are you thinking of?” He replied:
“Women priests. Allowing priests to marry. Why not? What’s that clerical celibacy about anyway? I remember seeing a Belgian cardinal, Cardinal Suenens interviewed and he talked about how doctrine is one thing, but if you examine your conscience, and your conscience says, I must do this, you must follow your conscience. And I said, “That’s the kind of guy who should be pope.”
While announcing his diagnosis in a video in 2019, he asked fans to pray for him. Religion News Service reacted to this request and reported that:
“Trebek’s prayer request caught the ear of former contestants like Geoffrey Mitelman, a Reform Jewish rabbi from New York who was a Jeopardy game contestant in 2016 said ‘“Alex said he wanted prayers so let’s do what we can do’. Through a private Facebook group, emails, and phone calls, the rabbi was able to organize a digital interfaith prayer service for Trebek. Up to 100 faith leaders, including Orthodox Jews, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians, will be participating in the service via a Zoom conference on March 13. The service will be recorded and sent to Trebek”.
After the Zoom conference, Trebek thanked his fans. He said, “I’ve got a couple of million people out there who have expressed their good thoughts, their positive energy directed towards me, and their prayers. I told the doctors, this has to be more than just the chemo, and they agreed it could very well be an important part of this.”
Few reports have it that Trebek sent his children to Jesuit Schools and that he values prayers a lot. A Catholic University also presented him with an award in January 2020. While accepting the Award he said “If there’s one thing I have discovered in the past year, it is (the) power of prayer. I learned it from the Jesuits when I was a kid, I learned it from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate when I was in boarding school.”
Does Alex Trebek Believe in God?
Alex Trebek talked about his faith in “god” and a higher power on several occasions. When he was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer, He made a video in February 2020 about his level of recovery. In the video, he said:
“There were moments of great pain, days when certain bodily functions no longer function, and sudden, massive attacks of great depression that made me wonder if it was worth fighting on, but I brushed that aside quickly because that would have been a massive betrayal — a betrayal of my wife and soulmate, Jean, who has given her all to help me survive. It would have been a betrayal of other cancer patients who have looked to me as an inspiration and a cheerleader of sorts of the value of living and hope, and it certainly would have been a betrayal of my faith in God and the millions of prayers that have been said on my behalf.”
Alex Trebek also admitted in his memoir that he doesn’t believe in a certain God. The Christian Post said that “Trebek added in his memoir that he doesn’t believe in any particular god or a ‘particular version of the afterlife’”.
He said, “Am I a believer? Well, I believe we are all part of the Great Soul—what some call God. We are God, and God is us. We are one with our maker. How do I know this? It’s not that I know it. It’s that I feel it. But do I pray to a specific god? Do I anticipate a particular version of the afterlife? No, I do not.”
This statement has made a lot of people confused about the particular God he believes in.
During his ordeal with cancer, he was optimistic and never lost faith. “I’m going to fight this and I’m going to keep working, keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done” were some of his words.
The statement above indicates that Alex Trebek had a certain level of faith in God. His statements are ambiguous because in one interview he might say that he believes in a “God”, then in another, he might say that he does not believe in one particular God.
In Alex Trebek’s memoir titled “The Answer is…Reflections on my life”, the television host said:
“But do I pray to a specific god? Do I anticipate a particular version of the afterlife? No, I do not. For all I know I’ll wind up coming back to another life as a knitter during the French Revolution sitting there like Madame Defarge watching the executions. However, lately, I’ve been thinking more and more about that old line they used to use in the military: “No one’s an atheist in a foxhole.” If ever there was an opportunity to believe in God — a god — this might be a good one, Trebek, now that you’re on the verge. What have you got to lose?”.
Alex Trebek sure believes in a “God”, but because of his statements, we do not know which God he believes in.
Is Alex Trebek a Christian?
Alex Trebek said that he was raised a Catholic. In October 2018 during Pennsylvania Gubernatorial debate where he was the moderator, he said:
“Two-hundred and fifty students, other boys and I, spent three years sharing the same accommodations 24/7 with 44 priests, and not once in those three years was there any sexual misbehavior. Now boys are pretty sharp, we talk, we would have known. So I believe that there are Catholic priests out there who can minister to their congregations without preying – that P-R-E-Y – on the young people.”
In his memoir, he wrote,
“The will to survive is so strong in many people. You see it in tragedies all the time, whether it’s earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, or floods. The people who live, the people who survive, we say, “My God, how did they get through that? Well, there’s a will to survive, and there’s a lot of luck and a lot of God’s help that comes into play. I don’t think the will to survive is a constant. I think there are moments—and there are certain moments in my life—when that will survive disappears and I’m ready to pack it in. Because I understand that death is part of life. And I’ve lived a long life. If I were in my twenties with years ahead of me, I might feel differently. But when you’re about to turn eighty it’s not like you’re missing out on a great many things.”
Alex didn’t say much about his Christianity, but in a Youtube video in 2018, he stated that he “believes in a Christian God”.
Is Alex Trebek Baptized?
Alex Trebek grew up in a Catholic home. He went to a Catholic boarding school and even thought of becoming a priest. Alex was baptized into the Catholic Church when he was a child.
What does Alex Trebek say about Jesus?
Nothing has been said about the relationship between Alex Trebek and Jesus. He hasn’t said anything about Jesus in an interview or on social media posts.
Conclusion
Alex Trebek was raised a Catholic Christian, but along the line, he drifted from faith. His recent statements have made people question his Christian beliefs. People also doubt his belief in God after he clearly stated that he does not believe in a particular “God.” Judging from his public comments about religion and reactions, we do not consider Alex Trebek to be a Christian.
Think we were wrong? Write your reasoning in the comments and prove us wrong