Did You Know That These Celebrities Are Actually Quite Religious?

Published on January 17, 2023
While Hollywood often gets the reputation for being a place that’s fraught with immorality, there is a surprising number of celebrities that are still quite religious.

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik is best known for her appearance on The Big Bang Theory as Amy Farrah Fowler. She is very vocal about her Judaism, and has said: “I think 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.”

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert became a household name for being on The Colbert Report from 2005 until 2014. Did you know that he is one of eleven children? His family is very Catholic and has said that his parents are very devout but still value intellectualism and allowed their kids to question the church if needed. He said that in his 20s, he returned to religion, saying that he was given a Bible by a total stranger one night, sharing  “I stood on the street corner in the cold and read the sermon, and my life has never been the same.”

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Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert

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Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt was a TV star before making the jump onto the big screen, starring in several highly successful franchises. He was invited to church by a stranger, and he deeply connected with Christianity. Raised Lutheran, he eventually became a non-denominational Christian, and attends Zoe Church in Los Angeles.

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Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt

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Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington’s father was an ordained Pentecostal minister, so it makes sense that Denzel is very devout himself, and reads the Bible every day. He said he even considered becoming a minister himself, saying in 1999: “A part of me still says, ‘Maybe, Denzel, you’re supposed to preach. Maybe you’re still compromising.’ I’ve had an opportunity to play great men and, through their words, to preach. I take what talent I’ve been given seriously, and I want to use it for good.

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Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington

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Marie and Donny Osmond

Donny and Marie Osmond are part of the Osmond family, all of which grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The two have credited their Mormon faith for success in their lives, with Donny saying that it helped him stay humble, while Marie shared that it helped her in the darkest time of her life when her son passed away.

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Marie And Donny Osmond

Marie And Donny Osmond

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Pierce Brosnan

Most of us will always think of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, who he played in several films from 1995 until 2002. He grew up Catholic, and he shared that during his darkest times, like when his wife passed away from ovarian cancer, his belief was the only thing that helped him keep going. He said: “It always helps to have a bit of prayer in your back pocket. At the end of the day, you have to have something and for me, that is God, Jesus, my Catholic upbringing, and my faith.”

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Pierce Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan

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Sean Astin

Sean Astin grew up several different religions when he grew up. His mother was Catholic, his biological father was Jewish, his stepfather was an atheist turned Buddhist, and his brother is Hindu. After all of this exposure to religion, eventually Astin decided to follow Christianity, and he, his wife, and daughters all went through a baptism.

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Sean Astin

Sean Astin

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Kevin Sorbo

Kevin Sorbo is very open about his faith, and has even appeared in films that dwell in the topic like God’s Not Dead. He has been very vocal about being a nondenominational Christian, although he grew up Lutheran. He has criticized the response to his faith in Hollywood, saying: “there’s a negativity towards Christians in Hollywood, and a negativity towards people who believe in God.”

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Kevin Sorbo

Kevin Sorbo

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Kevin James

Kevin James was raised as a Catholic, and he has remained devout throughout his life. He has credited his faith with getting him through hard times, and has said: “I’ve been very guilty of not showing my faith and just praying when I needed it when something bad happened in my life and not being thankful when things turned good. All good is from God, and so I want to honor him.”

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Kevin James

Kevin James

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Kristin Chenoweth

Kristin Chenoweth was planning to release a Christian album in 2005, when her manager advised against it, saying it would not succeed and would cause a backlash. He decided to release it anyway and stay true to her beliefs. She grew up singing at her Baptist church, so she didn’t want to stray from her roots. She shared: “I’m an actress and a singer and I’m also a Christian. I just want to be like Jesus, forgiving and loving and nonjudgmental, accepting of everyone even if they don’t agree.”

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Kristin Chenoweth

Kristin Chenoweth

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Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem, but was raised in New York. She attended Jewish school while growing up, citing that the religion has always been important to her. Her husband began the process of conversion after they got married. Portman said:  “A priority for me is definitely that I’d like to raise my kids Jewish, but the ultimate thing is to have someone who is a good person and who is a partner.”

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Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman

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Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom is best known for being a part of The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, and up until 2004, he was a Christian. However, that year he became a member of the SGI-UK, the UK branch of Soka Gakkai International, which is a lay Buddhist group that follows Nichiren teachings.

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Orlando Bloom

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Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling stole our hearts when she appeared on and was a writer on The Office. She is a Hindu and in true Mindy fashion, she has joked about her religion, saying in a tweet: “For Hindus, yolo makes no sense,” referring to the fact that Hindus believe in reincarnation.

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Mindy Kaling

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Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg has been in the public eye since he was very young, first as a member of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and later transitioning into acting in major films. He is Catholic and has openly talked about it being “the most important part” of his life. He sometimes even attends Mass twice on Sundays.

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Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg

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Dave Chappelle

Though Dave Chapelle’s father is a Unitarian Universalist minister, Chapelle converted to Islam back in 1991. Not a lot of people know this, and that is actually because he decided for it to be that way, telling Time magazine in 2005: “I don’t normally talk about my religion publicly because I don’t want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is beautiful if you learn it the right way.”

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Dave Chappelle

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Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Kareem Abdul Jabbar was born Lew Alcindor, and just a day after winning the NBA championship in 1971, he changed his name and converted to Islam. He said: “I emerged from this pilgrimage with my beliefs clarified and my faith renewed. From that year to this, I have never wavered or regretted my decision to convert to Islam.”

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Kareem Abdul Jabbar

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

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Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson, who played the hilarious Dwight Shrute on The Office, who is portrayed as Amish (more specifically Mennonites), Wilson himself is a member of the Baha’i religion. His podcast is hosted by the Baha’i Blog, and his interviews focus on the intersection of the guests’ beliefs and professional lives.

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Rainn Wilson

Rainn Wilson

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David Oyelowo

David Oeylowo is best known for his role as Martin Luther King Jr. in the film Selma, and much like MLK, he is a devout Christian. On the role, he said:  “I always knew that in order to play Dr. King, I had to have God flow through me because when you see Dr. King giving those speeches, you see that he is moving in his anointing.”

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David Oyelowo

David Oyelowo

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Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner grew up attending a United Methodist Church each Sunday and went to Vacation Bible School. Later in life, following her work on the film Miracles from Heaven, she said: “There was something about doing this film and talking to my kids about it and realizing that they were looking for the structure of church every Sunday.” Her kids were baptized as part of the United Methodist Church, and since 2015 they have been attending Methodist church services in Los Angeles.

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Jennifer Garner

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Ginnifer Goodwin

Ginnifer Goodwin’s mother is Jewish, and her father is a member of the First Unitarian Church, which is why she attended the church as well as Temple Israel in Memphis, where she grew up. She also attended a Reform Jewish summer camp, and was also baptized as well as had a Bat Mitzvah. In 2013, she opened up about her religion: “up and left Judaism for a very long time,” and that “for 10 years, there was nothing. No ritual. No tradition. No community.” She shared that she then reconnected with her Judaism, saying “I was a Jew by birth, and now I’m a Jew by choice.”

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Ginnifer Goodwin

Ginnifer Goodwin

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Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts grew up a Christian, but following her role in Eat, Pray, Love, she began becoming interested in Hinduism. She converted, saying that it provided her “spiritual satisfaction.” She follows the teachings of guru Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji), and in 2009, Swami Daram Dev of Ashram Hari Mandir in Pataudi gave her children new names that honored Hindu gods.

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Julia Roberts

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Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry is very open about being a Christian, and he has said: “I’ve seen lots of people who don’t go to church, who have no concept of God, who have never really thought about it, begin to change their lives because of something that was said in the film or something the character invited them to see.”

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Tyler Perry

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Tina Turner

Tina Turner grew up as a member of the Baptist church, and her father was a deacon. She later converted to Buddhism, and even often called herself a Buddhist-Baptist. In 2016, she said: “I consider myself a Buddhist.” She began practicing Buddhism with her local Soka Gakkai International chanting group, and said that during difficult times, she chanted for four hours a day.

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Tina Turner

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Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian is a Christian and has even described herself as “very religious,” which makes sense because she attended Christian schools, both Roman Catholic and Presbyterian. In 2019, she was baptized at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral complex in an Armenian Apostolic ceremony. She also baptized her daughter North at the Armenian Apostolic Church in Jerusalem. Her younger three children were baptized at Etchmiadzin Cathedral complex.

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Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez grew up Catholic, and when she was 13 she even decided to wear a purity ring. She said that her father “used me as an example for other kids: I’m going to keep my promise to myself, to my family and to God.” However, by 2010, she stopped wearing the ring, and said in 2017:  “I don’t know if it’s necessarily that I believe in religion as much as I believe in faith and a relationship with God.” She attends the Hillsong Church in California, and has reiterated that she is not religious but is connected to God.

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Elisabeth Moss

Elisabeth Moss is a member of the Church of Scientology and is a vocal feminist, so when a fan asked if the two are conflicting, especially considering her role in The Handmaid’s Tale, she said: “Religious freedom and tolerance and understanding the truth and equal rights for every race, religion and creed are extremely important to me.”

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Elisabeth Moss

Elisabeth Moss

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Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe grew up with evangelical Christian foster parents and also attended weekly Christian Science services with her aunt that she was later living with. When Monroe married Arthur Miller, she converted to Judaism, which actually caused all of her films to be banned in Egypt. She referred to herself as a Jewish atheist, and following her divorce from Miller, she did not practice Judaism anymore, but she did keep some religious items.

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Selena Quintanilla

Selena Quintanilla, who was often referred to as just Selena, grew up in a strict Jehovah’s Witness home. When she was tragically murdered at only age 23, many fans found out that her parents are devout Jehovah’s Witness members, since they said they do not mark the date of her death or her birthday. On the 20 year anniversary of her death, her father said: “As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we don’t celebrate deaths or birthdays, and we don’t want people to think we’re behind all the festivities.”

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Mos Def

Mos Def was born Yasiin Bey, the son of Sheron Smith and Abdulrahman, who was at first a member of the Nation of Islam and later began following Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. Mos was first exposed to Islam when he was 13 years old and is close friends with fellow Muslim hip hop stars Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. When he was 19, he took his shahada, confirming his full conversion to the religion.

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Mos Def

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Hailey Baldwin Bieber

Hailey Baldwin Bieber is very open and vocal about being a Christian, and like Selena Gomez, she is a member of the Hillsong Church. She has said: “Now in my 20s, I try to surround myself with people who believe the same thing I do, who follow and are open to it because it’s too hard to constantly get people to understand what I do if they just aren’t interested in it.”

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Russell Brand

Russell Brand has been very vocal about being a practicing Hindu who frequents Hare Krishna services. Brand has said: “I choose to believe in God because I think what that is, is the recognition that there is divine beauty in all of us, and if we prioritize that over our own selfish material needs, we will naturally create a culture more in harmony with our planet and we’ll have a chance.”

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Pink

Pink, who was born Alicia Beth Moore, grew up with a Jewish mother and Catholic father, but she has more identified with her mother’s religion. Following the neo-Nazi rallies in Charlottesville in 2017, she posted on her social media accounts: “It’s incredible to watch neo-Nazis march in 2017, while I, a Jewish woman, headline a show in Berlin where these tunnels were built by him, built curvy so he couldn’t be shot in the back.”

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Pink

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Kris Jenner

Though it is not a focus of their career, most members of the Kardashian-Jenner clan are quite Christian, including matriarch Kris Jenner. It is said that the family recite Bible verses together every morning. However, despite the fact that they have shared that they are Christian, it is not clear which denomination they are a part of.

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Kris Jenner

Kris Jenner

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Richard Gere

When Richard Gere was in his 20s, he began to become interested in Buddhism. He studied under Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, who taught him about Zen Buddhism for between 5 to 6 years. In 1978, Gere travelled to Nepal with artist Sylvia Martins, where they met with Tibetan monks and lamas, and he met with the 14th Dailai Lama in India as well. He began practicing Tibetan Buddhism in the Gelugpa school and is a big supported of the Dalai Lama.

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Patricia Heaton

Patricia Heaton is best known for her role on Everybody Loves Raymond, which won her two Emmy Awards. However, she credits her success to hard work and also her belief in God, saying: “You have to be really good at what you do, you have to show up and do your best, but the rest is up to God.”

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Patricia Heaton

Patricia Heaton

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Jon Heder

Jon Heder will always be known as Napoleon Dynamite to us, but in real life, Jon is quite an an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and even attended Brigham Young University, where he met his wife. He said: “Being a son, a husband, a father, a brother, a Church member, a Scoutmaster, etc. Everything I am influences my choices. Every job I take, I think about how it will affect my abilities to fulfill the duties required by each of these roles in my life.”

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Jon Heder

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Kirk Cameron

Kirk Cameron became well known for being the lead in Growing Pains, but when he was 17, he became a born-again Christian, converting to Protestant Christianity. He ended up founding an evangelical ministry called The Way of the Master.

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Kirk Cameron

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Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan, like many comedians on our list, is a practicing Catholic, and he even avoids working on Sundays. He has shared that his wife is much more devout than he is. He attends Mass at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral with his family, where he was married and baptized his children. He and his wife also gave the commencement speech at the Catholic University of America in 2016.

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Jim Gaffigan

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Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood is a practicing Evangelical Christian though she attended a Baptist church when she was growing up in rural Oklahoma. She released an album called My Savior, which consists of only Christian songs, many that are based on the hymns she sang at church while growing up.

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Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood

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Tom Cruise

While there are many celebrities that are members of the Church of Scientology, perhaps none are more well known for being affiliated with the church than Tom Cruise. He was introduced to it by his first wife over 30 years ago, and he has since become one of their most prominent advocates.

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Tom Cruise

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