Russell Brand ‘baptised’ while making oblique Catholic references

Russell Brand has announced he received a Christian baptism last weekend, though it remains unclear into which Church he has been received.

“[I]t was an incredible and profound experience,” the actor and comedian stated in a video published on his Instagram profile.

Brand, who was the subject of sexual abuse accusations and a slew of negative media reportage towards the end of last year, has for months been sharing his thoughts on Christianity, while occasionally dropping in specific references to Catholicism.

On 18 April, Brand, who was previously a Buddhist, announced that he had taken up praying the Rosary. Later, he teamed up with the Catholic prayer app Hallow and revealed he had been watching the videos of popular YouTube personality US Catholic priest Fr Mike Schmitz.

A week later, Brand was baptised, although it has not been made public who performed the sacrament nor which denomination of Church – if any – he was received into. In the Instagram announcement video, Brand noted that his wife is Catholic.

Some have expressed doubt about the sincerity of Brand’s conversion to Christianity after he posted a video just hours after his baptism in which he talked about telling the future with tarot cards.

He conceded that “a lot of Christians would say that tarot and even yoga is a kind of heresy”, but asked whether people could follow “hybrid modalities” in their beliefs.

It is also known that Brand has attended an Alpha course – which educates the inquiring on the fundamentals of Christian belief and is run by the Church of England – and has attended a Catholic church.

“Something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible, overwhelming – literally overwhelming, because I was obviously underwater, and it was the River Thames,” he revealed to his thousands of followers.

The choice to be baptised in the River Thames would indicate that the baptism was not Catholic, as Catholic canon law states that “apart from a case of necessity, the proper place of baptism is a church or oratory”.

Brand received negative publicity during 2023 after allegations of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse made against him by four women were made public following a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches. He denied the allegations, which centred on events alleged to have taken place between 2006 and 2013.

The comedian and Hollywood actor, known for his promiscuous love life, vulgarity and lewd humour, has appeared to gravitate towards Christianity in the months following the emergence of the sexual assault allegations last year.

Since December 2023, he has increasingly published photos and videos on social media discussing his encounter with Christianity.

In one video published four months after the allegations, Brand told audiences: “The reason I wear a cross is because Christianity – and in particular the figure of Christ – are, it seems to me, inevitably becoming more important, as I become more familiar with suffering; purpose; self; and ‘not self’.”

In his April 29 Instagram video the actor said that he understands the “cynicism” surrounding his religious turn:

“Some people will just see me as a celebrity…I don’t see me as a celebrity because I was me when I was a little boy. I was me when I was a junkie. I was me when I was poor,” he said.

In an earlier video posted on 26 April in which he discusses his forthcoming baptism, he said, “I know a lot of people are sort of cynical about the increasing interest in Christianity and the return to God, but to me, it’s obvious.”

“As meaning deteriorates in the modern world, as our value systems and institutions crumble, all of us become increasingly aware that there is this eerily familiar awakening and beckoning figure that we’ve all known all of our lives, within us and around us. And for me, it’s very exciting.”

After the baptism, he said: “For me, I’ve made the decision – and I know what the decision is. I pray that it will be relevant to my family in particular.

“The truth is this: as a person who has in the past taken many, many substances and always been disappointed with their inability to deliver the kind of tranquillity and peace and even transcendence that I always felt I have been looking for, something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible.”

Following his baptism, Brand revealed that he felt “changed”.

“Now of course, even though it’s been less than 24 hours, I’ve felt irritation. I’ve got children, I’ve got a job, I’ve got challenges, I still live in the world. But I feel as if some new resource within me has switched on,” he described.

“This is new for me. I’m learning. And I will make mistakes. But this is my path now. And I already feel incredibly blessed, relieved, nourished, held.

“You know I do a show every day, I’ll be talking about this stuff in the show because it’s part of my mission, and it’s part of my ministry, and it’s part of my service,” he told the camera emphatically.

“This is new to me,” he repeated, “And it’s a joy to me. And I know I’m not expected to be perfect, and I know that’s not something that I’ll be able to deliver.

“Those of you who have embraced me, I’m so grateful. I can’t tell you how happy I feel and how relieved I feel.

“But as you know – if you know – my resources are coming from somewhere else…and someone else… now,” Brand said beaming and pointing upwards.

Commenting on the story, the Catholic Herald‘s Gavin Ashenden, former Anglican chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II and Catholic convert, said that he was “not at all surprised at his becoming a Christian”. As Brand had been, he said, at “the bottom of the ethical ladder” it was understandable that he now “found the concept of salvation personally attractive” and was coming to recognise the “coherent ethical and metaphysical message of Christianity”.

Photo: Russell Brand speaks to thousands of demonstrators gathered in Parliament Square to protest against austerity and spending cuts on London, England, 20 June 2015. (Photo by Mary Turner/Getty Images.)

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