Fonda religion

Henry and Jane Fonda, 1943
PD-US

Jane Fonda's family might never have come to America if it weren't for religion.

Her father Henry's autobiography traces the family's migration from Genoa, Italy to the Netherlands in the 1500s.  This sudden move from Italy was a necessity, due to the allegiance of the Fonda family to the Protestant Reformation.  

During their time in Holland, the Fondas intermarried with the Dutch and ended up following them to the New World.  Rather than settling in Nieuw Amsterdam, the Fondas canoed up the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers to the Indian village of Caughnawaga.  Within a few generations, the place where they settled became known as Fonda, New York.

Douw Jellis Fonda (1700-1780) is considered to be the founder of this village.  There is a genealogical line from him all the way to Jane Fonda. Four of Douw Jellis' descendants were well-known clergy.  One, Jacob Douw Fonda (1793-1856), was the last regular pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church of Fonda (before the split in the congregation which resulted in the Reformed Church of Fonda).  Another, Jesse Isaac Fonda (1786-1827), was a minister at the First Dutch Reformed Church in Albany, New York.

Henry Fonda also reports in his autobiography that he was brought up as a Christian Scientist, and that his family avoided doctors and were very supportive of one another concerning health matters.  Jane Fonda reports in her own 2005 autobiography that this "third act" of her life will be the most significant one because of her then relatively-recent commitment to Christianity.  

During an interview with Beliefnet, Jane attributed this commitment to an initial "somatic feeling" of "being beckoned."  This powerful conversion experience, plus her proximity at the time to inspiring role models, led to a serious exploration of Christianity.  She has investigated it from many perspectives, including feminist ones.  

Resources

https://www.janefonda.com/2009/06/about-my-faith/