The Bates family, who started off as sidekicks to the Duggars on 19 Kids and Counting and then got a spinoff called United Bates of America, are copying the Duggars in another way: opening their own church. The Duggars have church services held at their home, which probably helps them get some kind of tax exemption. Bates family patriarch Gil Bates, however, will be a) preaching to people other than his own family members and b) holding services somewhere besides... Read more
Singer/songwriter Tori Amos has never shied from talking about religion. She grew up the daughter of a Methodist pastor, and many of her songs reference Biblical imagery or deal head-on with Tori’s relationship to religion. Take her first big single, “Crucify,” for example. Tori is now out promoting Gold Dust, an album she did of her songs in tandem with the Metropole Orchestra. Unsurprisingly, faith has been a big topic in her interviews. Here are a few quotes from her... Read more
Priscilla Keller and David Waller, the Duggar family in-laws whose wedding was shown on a recent episode of 19 Kids and Counting, are expecting their first child. Because these people are related to the Duggars, their otherwise normal baby announcement had to include a pro-life message about how women should have as many pregnancies as possible no matter the risks: (more…) Read more
Former Sons of Anarchy and The OC actor (and also former Katy Perry boyfriend) Johnny Lewis is currently at the center of a big Hollywood scandal. The actor is believed to have murdered his landlady and her cat before either committing suicide or falling to his death. Lewis was known for having drug problems, and he went through Scientology’s Narconon program at the request of his parents, Michael and Divona Lewis. The Lewises are longtime committed Scientologists who have both... Read more
Brit band Mumford & Sons just played Saturday Night Live last week in support of their new album, Babel. The first single is also titled “Babel,” and the song is much more about the Bible than about the Brad Pitt movie. Sample lyric: “Know my weakness, know my voice/and now believe in grace and choice.” Religion isn’t unfamiliar territory for the band. Lead singer Marcus Mumford‘s father is a vicar and performed the ceremony when Marcus married Carey Mulligan this spring.... Read more
Well, that was the longest sentence I’ve written in a while. Let’s break this down: Lisa Whelchel played Blair on The Facts of Life. Lisa is also a devout Christian. She was a Christian before she was famous, and reportedly refused to film a Blair-loses-her-virginity scene on the show. In 1988, Lisa got married to Steven Cauble, a pastor at the church she attended in California. They had three kids. Lisa and Steven were both outspoken advocates of homeschooling and... Read more
Football player Tim Tebow (he was on the Denver Broncos and has since been traded to the New York Jets) is interviewed in this month’s issue of Vogue. Although he doesn’t land himself on the cover, he does get a photoshoot (an image from which you can see here) and a headline calling him Superman. In the interview, Tebow says that he would like to get married someday, and that he wants a woman with a “servant’s heart.” Um, what?... Read more
The Kardashian family (and, well, most of the Jenner family) will put their name on just about anything they can think of. There are Kardashian clothes, perfumes, nail polishes, weight-loss pills, and even female sexual lubricants. But could a Church of Kardashian be the next big move? Nope – they already have one, and it’s possibly the only family venture they’re secretive about. Mom Kris Jenner has talked a lot about being a Christian and taking her kids to church.... Read more
On this week’s new episode of 19 Kids and Counting, the Duggars headed to Florida to attend the wedding of Priscilla Keller. Priscilla is Anna Duggar (wife of oldest kid Josh Duggar)’s sister, and several family members were included in the wedding party. The Kellers have eight kids, five girls and three boys, and all of them were shown at least once on camera during the episode. While most of the attention was on the bride and groom and the... Read more
Clay Aiken, the American Idol runnerup turned Celebrity Apprentice runnerup, posted a pretty funny Tweet the other night. “Playing drinking game with my brother now. We drink every time we see a black person on screen at the RNC convention,” he tweeted, with the hashtag #soberasamormon. Aiken is a devout Christian, but his burn on Mormons was probably just a specific insult aimed at Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who is LDS. Also, fun fact: Clay and I went to... Read more
Faith Goes Pop
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