No, Jan Berenstain was not Jewish. However, her husband Stan Berenstain was Jewish. Jan Berenstain was Episcopalian.
The Berenstain Bears are the brainchild of husband and wife Stan and Jan Berenstain.
Stan died in November 2005 and Jan died in February 2012.
As reported in the Jewish Daily Forward, "The New Yorker’s Book Bench blog pops that balloon. While the blog reports that (Jewish) Stan and (Episcopalian) Jan 'resisted religious elements in their books for children,' son Mike is taking the series in a decidedly goyish direction. Indeed, Berenstain the younger has launched a new series of Berenstain tales as part of the 'Living Lights' series published by Zonderkidz, a division of Zondervan, a Christian publisher based in Michigan."
Stan died in November 2005 and Jan died in February 2012.
As reported in the Jewish Daily Forward, "The New Yorker’s Book Bench blog pops that balloon. While the blog reports that (Jewish) Stan and (Episcopalian) Jan 'resisted religious elements in their books for children,' son Mike is taking the series in a decidedly goyish direction. Indeed, Berenstain the younger has launched a new series of Berenstain tales as part of the 'Living Lights' series published by Zonderkidz, a division of Zondervan, a Christian publisher based in Michigan."
