Crypto-Judaism

Judaica (clockwise from top): Shabbat candlesticks, handwashing cup, Chumash and Tanakh, Torah pointer, shofar, and etrog box.

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').^[1]

The term is especially applied historically to Spanish and Portuguese Jews who outwardly professed Catholicism,^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] also known as Conversos, Marranos, or the Anusim. The phenomenon is especially associated with medieval Spain, following the Massacre of 1391 and the expulsion of the Jews in 1492.^[7] After 1492 in Spain and 1497 in Portugal, officially they no longer existed. The Spanish Inquisition and the Portuguese Inquisition were established to monitor converted Jews and Muslims and their descendants for their continued adherence to Christian faith and practice, with severe penalties for those convicted of secretly continuing to practice their original beliefs. Information about secretly observant Jews largely survives in Inquisition cases against individuals.^[8]

^ Berlin, Adele, ed. (2011). "Cripto-Jews". The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (2nd ed.). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 195–96. ISBN 978-0-19-975927-9.
^ Jacobs, J (2002). Hidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews. University of California Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-520-23517-5. OCLC 48920842.
^ Tobias, HJ (1992). A History of the Jews in New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-8263-1390-4. OCLC 36645510.
^ Alexy, T (2003). The Marrano Legacy: A Contemporary Crypto-Jewish Priest Reveals Secrets of His Double Life. University of New Mexico Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-8263-3055-0. OCLC 51059087.
^ Benbassa, Esther; Rodrique, A (2000). Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th–20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World). University of Californida Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-520-21822-2. OCLC 154877054.
^ Gerber, JS (1994). Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience. Free Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-02-911574-9. OCLC 30339044.
^ Levine Melammed, Renee. "Women in Medieval Jewish Societies," in Women and Judaism: New Insights and Scholarship. Ed. Frederick E. Greenspahn. New York: New York University Press, 2009. 105–106.
^ Rowland, Robert."New Christian, Marrano, Jew" in The Jews and the Expansion of Europe to the West, 1450-1800. Paolo Bernardini and Norman Fiering, eds. New York: Berghalm Books 2001

[1] Berlin, Adele, ed. (2011). "Cripto-Jews". The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion (2nd ed.). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 195–96. ISBN 978-0-19-975927-9.

[Jacobs-2] Jacobs, J (2002). Hidden Heritage: The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews. University of California Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-520-23517-5. OCLC 48920842.

[3] Tobias, HJ (1992). A History of the Jews in New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-8263-1390-4. OCLC 36645510.

[4] Alexy, T (2003). The Marrano Legacy: A Contemporary Crypto-Jewish Priest Reveals Secrets of His Double Life. University of New Mexico Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-8263-3055-0. OCLC 51059087.

[5] Benbassa, Esther; Rodrique, A (2000). Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14th–20th Centuries (Jewish Communities in the Modern World). University of Californida Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-520-21822-2. OCLC 154877054.

[6] Gerber, JS (1994). Jews of Spain: A History of the Sephardic Experience. Free Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 978-0-02-911574-9. OCLC 30339044.

[Levine-7] Levine Melammed, Renee. "Women in Medieval Jewish Societies," in Women and Judaism: New Insights and Scholarship. Ed. Frederick E. Greenspahn. New York: New York University Press, 2009. 105–106.

[8] Rowland, Robert."New Christian, Marrano, Jew" in The Jews and the Expansion of Europe to the West, 1450-1800. Paolo Bernardini and Norman Fiering, eds. New York: Berghalm Books 2001

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