It may come as a surprise to some that Astin, who has said in the past that he doesn't wear his faith on his sleeve, is religious. But a close look at his career and his public comments corroborate this very fact. In his discussion with Beliefnet, Astin described his faith journey in detail and didn't hesitate to call himself a faithful Christian.
He detailed his fascinating faith journey — one that encapsulated experiences with Buddhism, Judaism, Catholicism, agnosticism and Protestantism (they all touched him in some way). Today, Astin is a Lutheran, having been officially baptized along with his wife at a church in Indiana. But growing up, his stepfather, actor John Astin, was a Buddhist and his birth father was Jewish.
Beyond that, his mother, actress Patty Duke, is a Catholic — at least nominally. When Kennedy asked about this dynamic, the entertainer was candid:
“Well, it depends on when you ask her and who you ask. I think today she would probably consider herself a Catholic. She’s had a really kind of tortured relationship [with the Church]. I [remember] when my sister died. There’s this group of nuns that lived in a convent nearby. She insisted that they be there. So, you know, when you talk about self identifying versus how people practice versus the culture versus all these kinds of things I think my mom is a feels very comfortable with her Catholicism.”
In a previous interview, Astin was asked about his favorite prayer. He cited Ron Dugger who had once set up a meeting between the actor and then-Sen. John Kerry at a time during which Astin was politically active.
“There’s a guy named Rob Dugger who was a very senior member of the Democratic National Committee. [A]fter I’d met with John Kerry, [Rob had] arranged a meeting and this [was] at the height of my trying to grapple with what I was able to accomplish–and not–on a political level,” Astin told Huang. “We just had this conversation, and I asked him that question. [H]e said every morning he wakes up and he says a prayer, ‘Allow me to be an instrument of Your will.’”
Astin said the prayer really resonated with him and that he has uttered it “a few thousand times” since first hearing it.
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