Exploring Kanye West’s new-found faith in Christ

For good or bad, what celebrities say and do matters, writes David Quinn

It’s entirely possible you’re never heard of him, or are only vaguely aware of him but rest assured that Kanye West is a massive star. He is an American rapper, singer and song-writer. This year alone, he is on target to make something like $150 million. On Twitter, Mr West (42) has 27 million followers, which is about half the number of a truly gargantuan figure like Donald Trump.

Mr West’s fame has only grown since marrying ‘reality’ TV star, Kim Kardashian. They are both so big, the term ‘power couple’ doesn’t really do them justice.

Anyway, what might be of interest to readers of The Irish Catholic is that Mr West has just released a new album called ‘Jesus is King’, and it is about his new-found Christian faith.

This is a big deal because of West’s huge fame in his native America. When he speaks, millions of people pay attention. They will at least register the fact that he is talking a lot about Jesus.

Cynics

The cynics are already out in force attacking him. They believe his new-found faith is a coy marketing tactic. But if it is, it’s a risky one. Celebrities in the US often talk about their Faith, sometimes in very saccharine ways. So Kanye West taking about his devotion to Jesus is not so unusual. A singer will get away with that.

But last year, Mr West backed Donald Trump and has previously worn a ‘MAGA’ hat (‘MAGA’ standing for Trump’s campaign slogan ‘Make America Great Again’).

That was risky, because black Americans like Mr West almost never vote Republican and Mr Trump is obviously a hugely divisive figure.

Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the Gospel”

What’s also risky is that Mr West, in taking about his brand of Christianity, has taken to criticising abortion. Previous singers might have thanked God when picking up a music award, but they didn’t attack abortion.

They played the rules of the game. Another mega-star, Beyonce, has often referred to her faith in Jesus, but she allies that to a certain type of feminism, not pro-life talk. (Although Beyonce has so far resisted pressure to campaign in favour of abortion.)

Mr West, on the other hand, has attacked liberals for giving his fellow African-Americans ‘Plan B’ (a ‘morning-after’ pill) and abortion. In some African-American communities, there are more abortions than births.

This got the attention of the world’s biggest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, which attacked his remarks.

In a radio interview, he was asked if he feared his controversial remarks might end his career. Mr West dismissed the idea. He then turned on the proponents of “cancel culture” (meaning those who want to drive anyone they dislike out of public life) and said these same people are also “telling you that you can’t have a right to say who you will vote for” and “will be soon to take Jesus out of school” to “remove Jesus, period, from America, which is the Bible Belt”.

Mr West has also spoken about the importance of the family and how important it is to be married. That’s an important message in his community where it is often the norm for children to grow up without a father.

For good or bad, what he says and does matters, like it matters what other mega-stars say and do”

He has discussed his past addiction to pornography and other aspects of his life that were seriously at odds with his Christian faith.

He says he is reformed: “Now that I’m in service to Christ, my job is to spread the Gospel, to let people know what Jesus has done for me,” Mr West explained. “I’ve spread a lot of things. There was a time I was letting you know what high fashion had done for me, I was letting you know what the Hennessey had done for me, but now I’m letting you know what Jesus has done for me, and in that I’m no longer a slave, I’m a son now, a son of God. I’m free.”

What should we make of all this? Should we take it seriously?

The first thing is to be said is that it is significant because Mr West is such a huge cultural figure in America. For good or bad, what he says and does matters, like it matters what other mega-stars say and do.

When other celebrities make political statements, they are far more likely to be in favour of abortion than against it, for example, and they bring public opinion with them. So it is good to have a big name going the other way.

Theology

An article in the Catholic magazine America has taken him to task, however, over his political remarks, and the type of Christianity he is espousing, namely a sort of “prosperity theology” that links faith in God to personal success.

Mr West attributes his huge success and growing personal fortune to his belief in God. What does that say to Christians who are failures in worldly terms? Is Mr West a better Christian, more ‘godly’ because he is so rich? That is obviously the antithesis of true Christianity.

But maybe we have to apply to Mr West what Pope Francis has to say about ‘accompaniment’, that is, walking alongside someone patiently as they grow in Christian faith without condemning them for not being where they should ideally be.

If Mr West is sincere about his Christian faith, then it will develop over time. It will lead him away from prosperity theology and it will lead him away from a ‘bling’, appearance-based lifestyle.

As time goes on, maybe he will begin to teach his fans that surface appearances don’t matter so much, and worldly success is not the real measure of overall success.

And maybe he will accompany his wife on the same path.

For now, we just have to wait and see and be thankful for now that he seems to have a Christian faith of some sort and is not spouting of the usual PC ‘gospel’ almost every other celebrity adheres to.