Stars Who Are Secretly Religious

While it is sometimes seen as taboo to be openly religious in Hollywood, behind the scenes many stars are actually quite religious. Whether it's subtle Instagram posts, attending church or using their faith as a comedic device, here are some celebs who are behind-the-scenes worshipers.

Jurassic World's Chris Pratt often posts religiously-tinged updates to his social media accounts. One of his Instagram posts shows a photo of a tray his brother Cully Pratt designed. The tray is a photo of Jesus with the crown of thorns and the Bible verse from Philippians 4:13 that reads: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." When Cully asked Chris if he could design a tray for him, Chris chose this one because: "...I thought a lot about being homesick. I'd like having a touchstone that I could take with me as I travel on the road for work. Something less straight up bad ass hero and more homesick in need of comfort. So I thought about this great Bible verse Philippians 4:13 which I've relied on for strength from time."

When his son Jack with wife Anna Faris was in the ICU, Chris prayed often. He told People, "It restored my faith in God, not that it needed to be restored, but it really redefined it."

Relevant Magazine reported that it seems Chris has no agenda and "his faith seems sincere, because unlike some Hollywood stars turned religious post-children, Pratt's faith isn't political. It's also not part of his 'brand.' It's just seems to be a part of who he is."

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga, was raised Catholic and is known to still attend Mass. She posted on Instagram a photo of her with a priest in the kitchen of her father's restaurant. Gaga wrote, "Thank you Father Duffell for a beautiful homily as always and lunch at my pop's restaurant. I was so moved today when you said.. "The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect but the food that God gives us."

Gaga's songs are also subtly tinged with religious undertones. Take the lyrics to "Born This Way," and "A Million Reasons."

Gaga is unique in that she is a Christian yet defies the stereotypical social conservatism views and is instead a progressive. She doesn't seem to be afraid of religion in general—while she was dating ex-fiance Taylor Kinney, she stopped by his hometown church for services over the holidays.

Despite a not-so-Christian past for Josh Duhamel, who is rumored to have cheated on his wife Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas fame, the two have used their faith to get through rough times. Duhamel told Us Weekly "We've both had to work for what we got. We're both Catholic. There were a lot of things that were really compatible between us," the actor says. "But at the end of the day, she's just an amazing girl." Fergie has had a similarly torrid past. The former meth addict names her faith with getting her clean.

Now, the two spend quiet Saturday evenings together, telling Us Weekly when it's time for the weekend the two enjoy Saturday nights at Mass then dinner. Fergie says, "It feeds our spiritual side, and it's great to hear Josh sing in church—he's a great singer. Then we go out and have a really nice wine, like all good Catholics."

Their son Axl was baptized in the Catholic church at the couple's home parish in 2013.

Actor and family man Steve Carell (he's been married to wife Nancy Walls since 1995) is Catholic, admitting to Collider his religion during an interview for the movie Evan Almighty.

Carell's genuine optimism he portrays often onscreen is true to his actual personality. The Hollywood Reporter calls him "an avowed Catholic, passionate family man and deeply averse to the cynicism he sees in society as a whole and in comedy." Carell called the cynical point of view "borderline mean."

Coincidentally, Carell's understudy while he at Second City was Stephen Colbert, who is also Catholic. The two reportedly still stay in touch.

Mark Wahlberg met with the UK's Catholic Herald for an interview, telling the publication: "Being a Catholic is the most important aspect of my life. The first thing I do when I start my day is, I get down on my hands and knees and give thanks to God. Whenever I go outside of my house, the first thing I do is stop at the church."

After being charged with attempted murder and ending up in jail after allegedly robbing a pharmacy, Wahlberg turned to the faith he was brought up in. "There's nothing scarier than being 16 years old, hearing the jail house door close behind you, and knowing that you're not going to leave," (via The Catholic Herald). "Once I focused on my faith wonderful things started happening for me. And I don't mean professionally—that's not what it's about...I want to serve God and to be a good human being and to make up for the mistakes I made and the pain I put people through. That's what I'm praying for, and I recommend it to anybody."

Wahlberg calls his faith his anchor that supports all that he does in life.

Richard Gere, a Buddhist, has worked for years for Tibetan freedom. In an interview with Lion's Roar, a website devoted to Buddhism, Gere described his first meeting with the Dalai Lama: "It completely changed my life the first time I was in the presence of His Holiness. No question about it. It wasn't like I felt, 'Oh, I'm going to give away all my possessions and go to the monastery now,' but it quite naturally felt that this was what I was supposed to do—work with these teachers, work within this lineage, learn whatever I could, bring myself to it. In spite of varying degrees of seriousness and commitment since then, I haven't really fallen out of that path."

Gere told Frontline he feels safe with the religion and people often ask him about the Dalai Lama and why he feels so drawn to him. "This is someone who wants nothing from you. Except for you to be happy. That's it. Doesn't want your money. Doesn't want your time. Wants you to be happy and knows that there is a path that if you give yourself to it with courage and commitment you will ultimately be happy. I mean not one lifetime maybe many hundreds of millions of lifetimes of world systems of lifetimes," (via Starpulse).

Julia Roberts converted to Hinduism in 2010 while filming Eat, Pray, Love. Roberts is so deeply involved in the religion that she named her film production company Red Om Films (named after the Hindu symbol). Raised with a Catholic mother and Baptist father, Roberts has said spiritual satisfaction was why she chose to convert to Hinduism. "I have no intention of demeaning any other religion simply because of my fondness for Hinduism. I don't believe in comparing religions or human beings. A comparison is a very mean thing to do. I have received real spiritual satisfaction through Hinduism," (via About Religion).

Roberts has been known to take her entire family to temple. She told the International Business Times: "I'm definitely a practicing Hindu. Golly, I've been so spoiled with my friends and family in this life. Next time I want to be just something quiet and supporting."

A strong Christian faith has helped Angela Bassett stay grounded after three decades in Hollywood. She told the Christian Post fame and money are nice, but "not if you serve them" and they "have the potential to devour."

Bassett told Parade she prays for strength. "I follow my dreams, but to not crave it so much that I'm easily preyed upon...All money is not good money and some of these situations can rob you of your good intentions. Knowing who you are and staying true to that is everything," (via Christian Post).

Bassett, whose grandfather was a pastor, grew up in Sunday school and her church choir. She often went to Bible study with her grandmother. She said in Parade, "Love of God makes so much sense to me when other things don't. Life is so beautiful and complex, that it doesn't make sense to me that it was just an explosion. It's my belief system," (via Empowering Everyday Women).

Comedian and father of five, Jim Gaffigan often jokes in his shows about living as a Catholic. As a married man who attends church, he often feels like the odd one out in terms of comedy. By creating his "Inner Voice" segment, he ended up judging himself for his audience, rather than letting them judge him for being religious. His wife Jeannie told the Washington Post, "It disarms them a little. In Jim's mind, it's like saying: 'What is the worst thing that could happen?' It's putting it all out there."

After becoming an agnostic in his 20s, Gaffigan returned to Catholicism, calling it a very personal choice. "But I think it was—you know, I reached a point in my life where I didn't really like who I was. And, you know, I had the all these things that I wanted. I was married to an amazing woman. I had children, and yet there was frustration. You know, it's kind of hard to articulate, but, like, this notion of mercy, forgiveness, was very appealing for me. It was very profound. And it had a deep impact, and I think it still does," (via NPR).

For Gaffigan and his wife, they introduced their TV Land show The Jim Gaffigan Show with a comedically religious theme: "We played off the notion of being outed as Christian, that being Christian in entertainment is like being gay in the '50s. It really touches on my fear surrounding being known as a Christian," Jim told the Washington Post.

Comedian Dave Chappelle converted from Unitarian Universalism to Islam. Despite having a mother who was the first ordained African-American female Unitarian Universalist minister, he chose to become a Muslim. His brother Sedar Chappelle converted first, and Dave soon followed. He even abandoned a $50 million dollar contract during the height of his Chappelle's Show fame to escape to South Africa for a little faithful reflection, staying with a friend. Chappelle called Islam, "a beautiful religion if you learn it in the right way. It is a lifelong effort," (via Belief Net).

Chappelle was spotted at a rally in Dayton, Ohio (near the 65-acre farm where he resides with his family) protesting President Trump's executive order regarding immigration. Faderreported, "We are all here because what you [Trump] are doing does not seem right. As a matter of fact, it sucks. I support refugees, I support immigrants, and I love my friends and neighbors."