Music

Harry Styles is an open book, however, he rarely talks about religious matters. Here's what he had to say about God, spirituality, and karma.

Published on January 15, 2020

Harry Styles garners headlines for his music, his fashion sense, his love life, and even his rare television appearances. Rarely has anyone asked him about his spiritual views. Here’s what Styles had to say about God, religion, and karma.

Harry Styles gets serious with Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler is a late night host known for her comedy and cultural commentary. She’s generally not known for talking about theology. However, she broke from tradition to discuss a host of supernatural subjects with Syles in an interview for Another Man.

Handler asked Styles “Do you believe in God?” Styles’ initial response wasn’t a direct answer to the question. He simply said “Wow.”

Handler explained why she asked the question. “I mean, you seem kind of spiritual to me, like hippie spiritual. I didn’t know if you were religious.”

Is Harry Styles religious?

Styles was pleased with Handler’s choice of words. “I’m glad you said it, I feel like anyone who says, ‘I’m spiritual’ sounds a little wanky. But yeah, I definitely consider myself to be more spiritual than religious.”

Styles discussed his moral philosophy. “I’m not super tied-in to certain rules but I think it’s naïve to say nothing exists and there’s nothing above us or more powerful than us. I think that’s a little narrow-minded.”

Handler kept the conversation on weighty topics. She asked “Are you one of those people who thinks everything happens for a reason?” Although Styles never said whether he believes in God, he did answer this follow-up question directly.

Does he believe in karma?

Styles said “I definitely believe in karma. I think ‘everything happens for a reason’ is a difficult one because there’s a lot of shit happening in the world that’s so unfair right now. So it’s hard to look at that stuff and think, ‘Well, everything happens for a reason.’”

Styles reiterated his belief in a spiritual force outside of humanity. “But I definitely think there’s something, that it’s not just us. It’s kind of crazy to think that it’s just us. I’m not saying I believe in aliens, but you know what I mean.” He asked Handler “Are you religious?”

Handler replied “No! I believe in karma, in energy, I believe people make things happen because there’s too much magic. But conversely, there’s so much sadness it’s hard to believe in what the reasoning behind everything is. Any person who has a brain thinks about it.”

How religion influences Harry Styles’ work

Although Styles doesn’t align himself with any specific religion, he has incorporated Christian imagery in his art. New Statesman reports Styles’ video for the song “Sign of the Times” features a moment where the singer walks on water. The video is referencing one of the most famous of Jesus’ miracles, as described in Matthew 14:22–34. New Statesman says Styles is one of a long line of male musicians to compare themselves to Jesus, including David Bowie, Michael Jackson, and Kanye West.

Styles is spiritual. He might not belong to any religious sect. That doesn’t change that some of his fans view him as a gift from God.

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