10 Celebrities Who Grew Up Mormon

Fairly just a few celebrities have revealed that they had been raised in a religious Mormon family, the place they had been taught to abstain from many issues seen as sinful, like alcohol, tobacco, medication and same-sex relationships. Whereas most of those stars have now taken totally different paths and left these beliefs prior to now, they nonetheless view their Mormon upbringing as an necessary a part of who they’re.

Discover out what these stars needed to say about their Mormon childhood…

Amy Adams was raised within the Mormon church till her dad and mom received divorced when she was 11-years-old. Wanting again, Amy says she was too younger once they left to have actually developed a “robust non secular pull in the direction of the church” and for her, it felt extra like they had been leaving a group.

“I grew up as a Mormon and that had extra of an impression on my values than my beliefs,” she informed The Telegraph. “I’m afraid I’ll all the time really feel the load of a lie. I’m very onerous on myself anyway. Non secular guilt carries over, too. You possibly can’t actually misbehave with out feeling badly about it — a minimum of I can’t…What I nonetheless really feel and depend on from that form of instructing, is how one can convey plenty of pleasure to the folks round you by being optimistic and hopeful.”

Musician Benson Boone grew up as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints however admits he by no means actually resonated with the faith. Wanting again on his youthful years, he says he by no means had the identical experiences as different folks within the church.

“Rising up, lots of people at church would speak about these experiences that they’ve had and these private revelations and emotions and voices,” he informed Rolling Stone. “I by no means felt it as bodily current as they did, and so I used to be all the time confused and pissed off. I used to be all the time scared to convey that as much as folks as a result of I simply didn’t need to settle for that, like, I wasn’t feeling what everybody else was feeling.”

Benson admits that he struggled along with his ideas till lastly opening as much as a good friend who truly felt the identical method. He now doesn’t need to be restricted to only one faith and has his “personal opinions” gathered from numerous religions and beliefs.

Katherine Heigl was raised Mormon whereas rising up in Connecticut. Wanting again, she says her dad and mom discovered the faith whereas they had been coping with the lack of her older brother, who was killed in a automotive accident. Katherine was simply seven-years-old on the time her dad and mom transformed and has optimistic recollections of the church. Whereas she not considers herself part of faith, she introduced some practices into her grownup life, like her resolution to not stay together with her husband Josh Kelley earlier than they received married.

“That [Mormon] construction and self-discipline was actually good for me,” she informed Good Housekeeping. “I had a childhood that was a childhood. I listened to my dad and mom. I revered the foundations.”

When Jewel was born in 1974, her dad and mom had been training Mormons and her father Antz was attending Brigham Younger College. After commencement, the household moved to Alaska and Jewel was raised in a non secular family till her dad and mom divorced when she was eight-years-old. After her mom moved away from the household, her father was left to lift Jewel and her two brothers, and issues modified drastically. When Antz ultimately received one other girl pregnant out of wedlock, he was excommunicated from the church.

“I grew up in a really conventional Mormon household. However every part modified when my mother left. My dad began consuming and being bodily abusive, so like hitting us, and that’s what induced me to maneuver out [at 15],” she informed Folks. “He was in plenty of rage and plenty of yelling.”

David Archuleta grew up in Utah and was part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He even took a hiatus from the music business to go on a mission journey to Chile. However as an grownup, David says he started to have a “religion disaster” whereas determining his sexuality and his involvement within the church — and it led to melancholy and suicidal ideas.

“Within the church, they are saying homosexuality is a sin, it’s of the satan. I might assume, ‘Oh, my gosh, I don’t need to be of the satan. So let me hold praying and fasting and attempting to be obedient,” he informed NBC Information. “I believed ending my life can be higher than turning into evil for permitting myself to fall in love with the identical intercourse.”

Shortly after popping out as queer, David started the method of attempting to reconcile his identification with the church’s beliefs. After having many conversations with church leaders about faith’s views on the LGBTQ group, he and his mom ultimately determined to go away in 2022.

“Now, I simply need to present folks that I left the church and I’m comfortable,” David stated. “A number of instances, if you’re in a extra closed-off group, folks attempt to make you are feeling like for those who go away, you’re not going to be comfortable. However I’m happier the place I’m. I’m loads happier.”

Ryan Gosling was raised in a small city in Canada and his household had been training Mormons. Within the early 2000s, Ryan known as himself “non secular however nondenominational” and acknowledged that being Mormons was nonetheless an excellent sense of delight for his mom and sister. However wanting again later in life, Ryan shared that his household weren’t as religious as they was.

“We had been introduced up fairly non secular,” he informed The Guardian. “My mom admits it. She says, ‘You had been raised by a non secular zealot.’ She’s totally different now, however on the time, it was part of every part – what they ate, how they thought.”

Siblings Derek and Julianne Hough, together with many different Dancing With The Stars professionals, had been raised in Utah as part of the Mormon religion. Whereas Derek and Julianne are not training Mormons, Julianne seems again fondly on that point in her life. She says she remembers household nights and spending time with the various different youngsters who had been a part of the church.

“It’s what it was. I didn’t know any totally different. I cherished the social side, that was form of how I used to be often called a child — going into church and sitting on all people’s lap and giving all people hugs at, like, three. I used to be the little greeter,” she shared on the Armchair Skilled podcast.

Julianne added that she recollects downsides to the faith as nicely, together with the overarching try for perfectionism. Ladies specifically had been made to “comply with the foundations and obey and do every part” to make it possible for your “household is the perfect and most excellent so as to serve God and your husband as a result of he’s the one in command of offering.” Julianne ultimately left the faith.

Eliza Dushku grew up within the Mormon church the place politician Mitt Romney truly served as her bishop. As of 2012, she says she doesn’t contemplate herself to be “very Mormon,” significantly due to the faith’s stance on the LGBTQ+ group — however she is grateful for her upbringing within the church.

“There’ll all the time be that a part of me that’s Mormon,” she informed The Salt Lake Tribune.

Panic! on the Disco frontman Brendon Urie was raised in “a really, very strictly non secular family” as a part of the Mormon religion however started rebelling when he was a teen. Wanting again, he says he needed to sit down along with his dad and mom when he was 16 and inform them that he had been going wild with out their information — partying, doing medication and going to strip golf equipment. Whereas he walked away from the religion, he says there “is a lot instilled in [him] from rising up Mormon” and it nonetheless influences his music.

“I nonetheless use plenty of good values from rising up within the Church, and there was a way of group. However you had been additionally being closely judged by folks that needed to look down on you for not being as nice as they’re,” Brendon stated. “And that’s not the sense I get after I’m touring and simply in music normally. So assembly followers and interacting with different bands has turn into a brand new faith to me, one which’s overwhelmingly stunning and enlightening.”

Think about Dragons singer Dan Reynolds grew up in a “actually conservative” Mormon family. He even attended Brigham Younger College and served a mission in Omaha, Nebraska. However he not considers himself part of the Mormon religion and admits that he “all the time struggled” with faith. Wanting again, he says he spent his 20s and early 30s “actually offended” at faith, as he felt he’d “been duped.”

“There’s clearly elements of the Mormon faith that I really feel fairly strongly are dangerous, particularly to our homosexual youth,” he informed Folks. “At instances I really feel fairly remoted from my household, however I additionally love them and am near them and see them, and there’s no animosity there. I’m on a distinct path. I’ve to like myself sufficient to comply with my reality.”

He continued, “[I] noticed plenty of the hurt that got here from it for me personally, but it surely additionally appeared to work extremely nicely for my household, and so they’re all wholesome, comfortable people. As I’ve gotten older, I am not offended about it anymore. If one thing works for somebody, that’s actually great and uncommon, and I don’t need to mess with it.”