Updated May 9, 2019 2.7K votes 652 voters 62.8K views
Voting Rules
Vote up the performers whose religious devotion is unexpectedly at odds with their public image.
Religion is a deeply personal thing, which is why it can be a shock to learn just how religious a celebrity is. Perhaps the most shocking, though, is finding out that your favorite rockstar is a lot more religious than you would've ever imagined. There are a lot of devoutly religious musicians, and they include some of rock's darkest and most intense personas. You'd be stunned to learn just how important the Christian faith is to someone like Alice Cooper, or how much Gene Simmons feels connected to his Jewish heritage. Some of the heaviest rockers in history are also musicians devoted to religion, and there are even some surprising religious bands out there who have managed to cross over and have hits on the mainstream charts.
From the best singers in rock music to outlandish artists you know and love, let's take a look at some of the most surprisingly religious musicians of all time.
The Geto Boys' Bushwick Bill made a left turn in 2006 when he announced that he would release his first Christian rap album. The hip hop artist, who found immense success in the early '90s with the Geto Boys, surprised fans when he announced the album during a gospel event in Texas.
"It was awesome to hear his testimony and to know that he can affect many lives in the secular community because he is so well-known. It's an exceptional start for his holy hip hop career - and it made our event extra special," a rep for the Urban Gospel Alliance said after Bill's first Christian concert in Houston.
Leading a band called Megadeth may seem like an unlikely career path for a man of faith, but frontman Dave Mustaine has, in fact, been a Christian for many years. He did, however, dismiss the broader idea of organized religion an interview in favor of spirituality and a personal relationship with God.
"It's better to live your life like there's a God and to find out there isn't, than to live like there's no God and find out there is," Mustaine said in the interview. "But honestly, to boil it down, religion, it sucks. For me it's really all about having a personal relationship [with God], and people don't want to do that because they don't want to be held accountable."
Culture Club singer Boy George has been open about his evolving beliefs over the years, saying in a recent interview that he was raised Catholic but currently practices Buddhism - though he'll forever have a connection to his religious upbringing.
"I had a strong Catholic upbringing, and I respect that... I think everybody is essentially looking for something bigger than themselves," George said. "I've always been fascinated with spirituality, religion... I always say I'm Catholic in my complications, and Buddhist in my aspirations. I was raised a Catholic, so I have a Catholic sensibility."
Alice Cooper's claim to fame might be his dark, borderline-Satanic stage persona, but in real life, he's had a longtime connection to Christianity. The singer fully recommitted himself to religion after struggling with substance use for many years.
"My wife and I are both Christian," Cooper said in an interview. "My father was a pastor, my grandfather was an evangelist. I grew up in the church, went as far away as I could from it - almost died - and then came back to the church."
Cooper revealed that his faith completely saved him from his hard-partying ways. That didn't stop him from making music in standard Alice Cooper fashion, though.
Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch grew more outspoken in his faith after leaving the band in 2005 and becoming a born-again Christian. He's made more faith-centric music in the years since, and even after rejoining the group in the early 2010s, he continued to speak honestly about his relationship with his higher power.
"I like to get high on something, and when I asked the Lord to come and make his home inside of me, the spiritual high, it's so real," he said in an interview. "And I hate religion. I don't talk about religion at all, but the relationship through Christ is what I found. And I'm totally satisfied. Now I can enjoy raising my kid, I can enjoy jamming with music in Korn, I can enjoy anything I do. It's the best high ever."
The late Arthur "Killer" Kane, the longtime bassist of the New York Dolls, underwent an intense personal transformation following his departure from the band. After a failed attempt at taking his own life, he discovered the Book of Mormon and subsequently joined the LDS church.
The rocker remained in the church for years, even during a brief reunion with the Dolls in the early 2000s, before passing in 2004 from leukemia.
