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September 30, 2024 - 9:00pm
Russell Brand, the British comedian once known for his Hollywood films and New Age spirituality, has embarked on a full-fledged journey toward traditional Christianity. This transformation recently reached its zenith when Brand joined forces with Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson to lead 25,000 people in reciting the Lord’s Prayer, a spectacle that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
Brand’s pivot to Christianity began in late 2023, coinciding with a series of sexual assault allegations that threatened to derail his career (Brand maintains these encounters were consensual). In a video posted to his social media accounts, the podcaster explained his newfound faith as a product of personal growth and a need for a “personal relationship with God.” Although he hasn’t yet announced his conversion to Catholicism, he has begun sporting a crucifix, telling his followers that the figure of Christ was becoming “inevitably” more important to him.
“I suppose it takes a certain amount of adulthood, and it might be different for all of us — for me, it seems that it’s taken quite a lot — to recognise that you need — I need — a personal relationship with God,” Brand mused in one of his characteristically rambling monologues.
This spiritual transformation isn’t just a case of a celebrity finding religion. It’s a wholesale adoption of a new worldview, one that emphasises personal responsibility, scepticism of secular institutions, and a return to traditional moral values. The comedian, who has long trafficked in anti-establishment rhetoric, has found in traditional Christianity a ready-made structure for his contrarian views, now beginning to be peppered with religious imagery and references to a higher power.
But Brand isn’t alone in his Rightward religious drift. He’s part of a broader trend of high-profile figures embracing traditional Catholicism. Candace Owens, conservative commentator and former Daily Wire host, announced her conversion to Catholicism in 2023, following a split with her employer over her use of the phrase “Christ is king.” Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, has increasingly framed his political activism in explicitly Christian terms, regularly invoking religious rhetoric in defence of Right-wing values. The aforementioned Jordan Peterson, who shared the prayer stage with Brand, seems to be drawing closer to a full conversion experience himself. Even tech titan Elon Musk has made noises about being a “cultural Christian,” — whatever that may mean.
For Brand, this new faith provides a framework for his existing critiques of consumer capitalism and technocratic governance. His YouTube diatribes now come with a sprinkling of Christian imagery and allusions to divine order. It’s a potent cocktail, one that’s attracting a growing audience of disaffected young men searching for meaning in a chaotic world.
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SubscribeSooner or later, virtually everyone realizes that they are not really in control, like they have been told throughout their life, and find their way back to God. I pity those who never do.
I’ve never believed I’m in control, life is more luck than anything else. Why that means I need a God to tell me it’s all luck though I’ve no idea
Is that why everything should be redistributed? Because life is just luck? I guess if one believes that it makes perfect sense to engage in a privilege-extinguishing hierarchy that makes no distinction between luck and work.
That’s quite a leap you’ve made there. Not sure how you get from my believing that luck plays a much larger part in our lives than most people would like to admit (which in my opinion renders religion largely pointless), to somehow linking it with the politics of the Soviet Union
What is luck though?
Luck is as ephemeral a concept as God.
Beleiving in god in fact would be more rational than belief in just luck on its own, without god.
It’s not a thing that you can touch.
People in general are governed by the choices available to them, some people have the opportunity of better choices than others, and some people make better choices than others. Religion is surely a guide or a way of living your life that helps you make the best choices and conduct yourself in the best way possible so you can therefore live the best life available to you from the choices you have in front of you.
Belief in luck governing people’s lives is actually quite irrational.
Perhaps you will when you are at the end of your life. I’m not here to convince you of anything, but for me, knowing where I am headed and why is re-assuring, so perhaps I’ll fare better than the countless famous people who went insane at the end of their lives believing they were in control and finding out too late. When you witness the non-believers’ actions during times of trouble, like I have, versus the faithful, you might understand.
No they don’t. Some people realise they are in control. After all, even Christians believe that they have Free Will, and can exercise it as they see fit. Maybe those people pity those in the thrall of religion (although personally I suspect that they are content even for the religious to “walk their path”).
You’re in control? Do you decide when your heart starts and stops?
Maybe. I am after all a firm believer in VAD.
God help you.
If he can he never seems interested in doing so
Only a Christian could have such a righteous smug view.
Said with a snug sneer…
I see no reason to doubt his testimony. I get the feeling some people want to believe that another person’s faith is a sham. It’s as though by disproving another person’s faith they can then disprove God and breathe a great sigh of relief and say: “I’m just a computer program running on squishy hardware. When the power goes out, I’ll just end, and nothing will matter anymore.”
Good luck with that.
Great comment.
Yeah, I find the skepticism towards rich and famous people who reach a point where they see no way forward in life but through faith as a reflection on the skeptics more than the newly-faithful. Imagine scoffing at a person who’s decided their life of wealth, excess, and materialism wasn’t cutting it? I think people who insist on implying these converts have ulterior motives have, themselves, ulterior motives. Usually, these are dedicated materialists who are obsessed with what others have – of course framed as a concern with “justice” which sounds much better than “envy”. If those who have reached the top of the mountain are turning around and saying, acquisition and self-indulgence aren’t going to carry you through a full human life, what hope do these people have for themselves? What are they striving for? Asking that question is uncomfortable so they make snide remarks about investments and try to ferret out cash flows because, if it is all an act and everything under the surface really is about their pet obsessions, then they don’t have to grapple with the existential questions they can’t look at squarely because their worldview offers no answers. To the rest of us, it just comes off as a petty attempt to mock someone for finding meaning in life. Under the mockery, of course, is fear and pain.
Spot on
scepticism… get it right
Russell is long term sober based on a 12 step programme that is essentially spiritual in nature and for many people leads to a rediscovery of “God”-however that may be interpreted.I regard his eventual conversion to a formal religion entirely consistent-and parallel to my own experience borne out of 31 years of sobriety.
Odd that we live in a society were professing Christian faith is regarded as a deception or deluded!!
Twelve steps….twelve apostles… hmmmmm.
God can certainly rescue sinners like Russell Brand and all of us.
1 Timothy 1:15 NIV
[15] Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
But the fact that this has allowed him to stay popular despite the shameful allegations against him (albeit with a different audience) can make us ask whether he has died to his old life.
Galatians 2:20 NIV
[20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
There is also the warning of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8. It seems he was truly converted, but he loved “showbiz” (you could say). It led him to conflict with the apostles and a sharp rebuke. We can pray that Russell Brand too is accountable to a switched-on local pastor.
“Christianity as both a badge of honour and a shield against criticism.” Since when has this ever been the case?
Some people IMO on the anti-establishment right see the value – and the important role – that Christianity played in the development of the most benevolent, free states in the history of the world.
Jim- you are a true Petersonian. Ha
How long have I been asleep? When did Christianity become “a shield against criticism”? If Brand has picked up his cross in an attempt to use it as a shield, it’s not working. He’s received snide skepticism almost uniformly from the MSM, of which this article is close to being an example.
This isn’t to say that Brand’s conversion…isn’t sincere.
Heh. There’s nothing sincere about Brand.
I’d say that his conversion is sincere. I’d also say that he’ll adopt some other faith or philosophy within eighteen months.
Guess there is no problem in trying them all out.
Except that it’s a bit dodgy when it comes to leaving the muslim faith to try another or none at all.
Well, what’s the point? Mosques provide a free daily meal all through Ramadan.
Does he sincerely believe 5G and cellular towers are dangerous? He says he does. Yet…I’m willing to bet he is on a cellphone all day and taking advantage of 5G when he can.
He’s an opportunist.
He’s a tool.
Or just monumentally narcissistic and stupid.
Bur certainly I doubt whether he’ll no be adhering to more than three of the Ten Commandments.
I am not a fan or Russell Brand on any level, but if he says he’s a Christian, then he’s a Christian as far as I am concerned. Whether that makes him a better person than he has been is another matter (I have my doubts).
I’ve seen you talk about Thatcher and Reagan with affinity but you despise Trump and have little respect for Evangelical Christians. What is it about Thatcher and Reagan you liked so much? Fiscal policy. Foreign affairs?
I come from a historically “Centre Right” background, and Thatcher and Reagan best embodied that. In those days, the Centre Right believed in low taxes, small government, a strong military, and at least some level of patriotism. That was about it. Thatcher and Regan were honest and courteous, but would stand up against regimes that needed to be stood up to. In this regard, one of my favourite Regan quotes is “My version of how the Cold War ends is that we win and they lose” (I may not have recalled it precisely, but that was the thrust of it). As to Trump, had I been American, I would have voted for him in 2016 (I really didn’t like Hillary), and maybe even in 2020 (although maybe not). However, January 6 made me realise just how truly evil the man is, and he has been going downhill in my estimation since. You misunderstand my attitude towards Evangelical Christians. I have no issue with them as such, just as I have no issue with Buddhists, Hindus or Zoroastrians. My issue is when they try to impose their religious views on me (for example by saying that I cannot avail myself of assisted dying, or my partner cannot have an abortion). In that circumstance, I am up for a fight. The reality is that Christians attempt to do that more than other faiths, so I probably seem more bellicose towards them.
“My issue is when they try to impose their religious views on me…”
Are you sure about that one? What prevents someone from entering your home and murdering you and your family on a whim if someone’s religious views weren’t translated into a law making such action illegal?
I think you might find that even non-Christian countries have laws against murder.
I can’t upvote or downvote you because I agree and disagree with what you have written.
I’d be the fist to admit that if I lived in (say) India, I’d probably have rather more issues with Hindus than with Christians. However, both the country of my birth and the country of residence are historically Christian.
He’ll fit in well, they deserve each other.
You do realise that’s the same self-identification argument that the alphabet soup minorities use (“I’m a woman if I think I’m a woman”) ?
Frankly, I’m paying no attention to this man. The only certainty is that’s he’s a pubilicity seeker and that’s something I find repulsive.
To me, religion is a very personal thing. If someone says “I am a Christian”, I personally see no value in saying “No, you’re not”. If really pressed, I might say something like “You say you are a Christian, but you do some very un-Christian things”, but I doubt I would even bother with that. If other people who identify as Christian say “You are not Christian, because you believe in X, Y, and Z” that is their business, but as a non believer, I am not going to buy into that sort of sectarianism. All of that said, you will get no argument from me about your view of Russell Brand (which I largely share).
What an awful article, peppered with snideness and condescension. Is it only the Right who wear their Christianity as a badge of honour (Obama and Biden and lots of left-leaning Americans spring to mind)? How is telling people that “the figure of Christ was becoming “inevitably” more important to him.” a sign of Catholicism rather than just general Christian. His baptism was carried out by a non-RC Christian and Jordan Peterson isn’t even a declared Christian. I think the author needs to learn to use Catholic and catholic separately.
Exactly. We don’t know whether Brand is sincere or not but, without any evidence, this piece is keen to imply that is not.
Yer but no but yer. Brand through his less than useful life has always attracted the gullible. Long may he continue to do so.
He also attracted Katy Perry, the lucky b**tard
Even money he becomes Jewish one day and is recognised as the Messiah. You’ve got to Allahf. He is a lucky b****r.
An inspired move by Brand.
He is utilising religion for it’s original intended purpose.
Only he will know if he is going on a legitimate spiritual journey, in the time being he has positioned himself to his followers as a priest-like figure to garner further loyalty and devotion.
Perhaps his own cult will follow.
For me, this post was all over the place despite the headline’s attempt at suggesting a thread (or serving as click bait?). Columnists should constantly keep in mind AI’s after their job, and so serve humanity better.
Who are you to judge one’s Christianity?
This website, and particularly the below-the-line comments, exist so that people can judge other people’s opinions and beliefs.
If your point is more narrowly that we can’t or shouldn’t judge the *sincerity* of Brand’s beliefs, I think the fact that he makes his living by selling his beliefs in one form or another (e.g. to online subscribers) means that we can and should.
A thing may be both sincere yet short-lasting.
If he ever does eventually do anything truly genuine (as opposed to attention-seeking) the acid test will be his…..complete silence on the matter.
“Right-wing figures wear their Christianity as both a badge of honour and a shield against criticism.”
How is their Christianity a shield against criticism?
There are 30k denominations of Christianity in the world, and even the biggest are notorious for their intramural disputes.
Being a Christian is about as left as it is possible to be. Intending to revere and sincerely attempt to live a life following the precepts of Christ’s message. Joining a sect like the church of Rome is something else.
a “cultural Christian,” — whatever that may mean.
Don’t we have a recent and thorough definition of this term courtesy of Peter Hitchens?
‘Right-wing figures wear their Christianity as …. a shield against criticism’
Any Christian today will tell you that such a badge increases criticism; the term hypocrisy is gleefully added to our list of sins, like years added to a sentence in a courtroom.
I have always thought of a “cultural Christian” as being someone who embraces all of the things that generally go along with being a Christian, without actually believing that “Son of God, died on the Cross and rose from the dead” stuff.
He looks like Christ, as far as western art has depicted him, and it must be very tempting to Brand to take it further. He is talented, charismatic and charming and modelling himself on Christ will do him no harm and probably do him a lot of good. Especially in the States.
I have always imagined the actual Christ to have had a stentorian voice, not the shrill squeak that comes out of Brand’s mouth.
Yes I Was being too kind I really suspect he is a narcissist cashing in on his jC image. Both sides are probably true.
They say God works in mysterious ways. They’re right.