In the latest Rolling Stone, Katy Perry tells her story of growing up in a Christian home, of her brief dalliance with Christian music, her longing to be a pop star, her relationship with fiance Russell Brand, and her present-day beliefs.
RS writes that "one would think her religious past is behind her, but [Perry] still considers herself a Christian." She tells the magazine, “God is very much still a part of my life. But the way the details are told in the Bible—that’s very fuzzy for me. And I want to throw up when I saw that. But that’s the truth... I still believe that Jesus is the son of God. But I also believe in extraterrestrials, and that there are people sent from God to be messengers, and all sorts of crazy stuff."
Fascinating but also confused observations from a young woman who is still trying to figure things out, despite living in a Christian home where both parents considered themselves pastors and where speaking in tongues was commonplace. "My mom and dad practice ‘tongues and interpretation’ together—my dad speaks in tongues, and my mom interprets it,” Perry said. “That’s their gift.” The three children, including Katy, spoke in tongues as well. “Speaking in tongues is as normal to me as ‘Pass the salt. A lot of religions use meditation or chanting as a subliminal prayer language, and speaking in tongues isn’t that different—it’s a secret, direct language to God. If I felt intuitively that I had to pray for some situation, but I didn’t rationally understand it, I just let my spirit pray for it.”
Perry said that after her Christian label shut down and that it was clear that "my gospel career was going nowhere," she started writing love songs and pursuing a pop career -- not rejecting her faith in the process, but not exactly fully letting it define her, either.
Great article summary and more about her past here.
