What Is William Shatner Religion, Is The Canadian Actor From Jewish Ancestry?

William Shatner is a famous Canadian actor who has been a part of the movie industry for over 70 years. Fans are curious about their religion, family, and personal life.

He is most well-known for playing the character of James T. Kirk in the Star Trek series. The actor turned 91 in March, making him one of the oldest actors still working actively in the entertainment field.

What Is William Shatner’s Religion?

Despite being recognized worldwide as one of the greatest actors of his generation, he is just an ordinary Canadian guy from a Jewish family. His grandpa, Wolf Schattner, renamed his family name from his father’s side, which was Schattner. All four of Shatner’s ancestors were Jewish immigrants from what are now settlements in Ukraine and Lithuania but were part of the Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary.

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In many interviews, he has mentioned being spiritual rather than religious. He said that his parents were religious people as they used to visit temples on every Sabbath. He also visited temples along with his parents in his childhood. Still, as he grew older, he got tangled in his daily life, work, and responsibilities that he couldn’t get time to be involved in any religious activities. 

Is The Canadian Actor From Jewish Ancestry?

Yes, William Shatner is of Jewish Ancestry as his grandfather was Schattner from the ancient Russian empire. He faces lots of difficulties while growing up because of his religious background. In one of the interviews, he recalled his memories, saying that most of the people of his locality were catholic, and they didn’t like him then.

This incident happened during the 1940s when people were not aware and educated. Even these days, we hear stories and news from several parts of the world where people are still discriminated against despite our society being more technologically advanced than that society.

William Shatner’s Early Life

The actor was born on March 22, 1931, to a Jewish family in Montréal, Quebec, Canada’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighborhood. His parents, Ann and Joseph Shatner, operated a business where they used to manufacture and sell clothes. He has an elder sister named Joy Rutenberg and a younger sister named Farla Cohen, making him the middle child of three children.

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Shatner got a chance to go to space in 2021 with a Blue Origin suborbital spacecraft. He was one of the first 600 astronauts to fly into space, becoming the oldest at 90. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1952 after studying economics at the McGill University Faculty of Management in Montreal.

William Shatner’s Career

Before moving into significant roles in numerous US television shows, Shatner started his screen acting career in Canadian films and television projects. He was featured as James Kirk in several projects of Star Trek. His experiences before, during, and after wearing a Starfleet uniform are detailed in several publications he has published.

In addition, he co-wrote several Star Trek novels and the science fiction TekWar series; both were adapted into television programs. As the titular veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker, Shatner played a role outside Star Trek. He also hosted Rescue 911, a reality show that won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Dramatic Series.

The actor’s appearances as a guest star in two episodes of the television detective series Columbo, which were broadcast more than 20 years apart, are among his numerous contributions to television programs from the 1970s to the 2010s.

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