Mayim Bialik on Her Jewish Faith: "It's Never Going to Be Trendy to Be Observant or Religious in Hollywood Circles"

"I have an unwavering faith in a power greater than myself," the Jewish actress says

It's hard to be religious in Hollywood, according to Mayim Bialik.

In an interview with Fox 411, the four-time Primetime Emmy Award-nominated Big Bang Theory star argued that, in general, "It's never going to be trendy to be observant or religious in Hollywood circles."

"There are people I know of faith and we tend to congregate together. I study Jewish texts weekly. That's something really positive to me when you're a person of faith; it stays with you all the time."

Bialik admitted she dislikes "the bureaucracy of organized religion." However, she added, "I have an unwavering faith in a power greater than myself. I don't think that will change any more than my belief in gravity will change. In terms of observance, my social media shuts down for [the Sabbath] and sometimes we go to synagogue, sometimes we stay at home and we do [dinners]...I believe in [Jewish law] but I also believe in the permeability and changeability in the structure of Jewish law and I think Judaism has always adjusted to the times that it lived in and it's adjusting in the time we are in now."

According to the actress, she recently received "a lot of negative attention" for visiting a friend in the Israel Defense Forces. "That's what's amazing...simply by going to Israel this summer and saying nothing more than, 'I've gone to Israel,' I got the same amount of hatred and threats and anti-Semitism for actually making a statement trying to support people whether I like it or not are serving in an army," the 39-year-old actress and single mom said. "That reveals the truth. It really doesn't matter what I support or believe. The fact that I'm Jewish and go there is enough—that should be alarming to most people."

Bialik said she feels compelled to defend her beliefs in other situations, too. "Being a scientist and a person of faith, people want to know how that is. It leads to a lot of interesting conversations that I welcome," she said, "but a lot of people want to open up a conversation just to tell you, 'You're wrong.'"