Answer: Yes
Disclaimer: It is not our role to determine whether or not somebody is a Christian. We just use our discernment based on the evidence we have found on the internet to come to a likely or best-guess answer. Our answers do not actually determine who is or is not a Christian and it is ultimately between the person and God. Not us.
Kanye West, AKA “Ye” rebranded himself as a “Christian” in recent years and this earned him some new fans while he also lost tons of them. The Chicago-bred rapper, singer, producer, songwriter, and fashion designer was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1977.
Kanye West graced the American entertainment scene in 1996 and has remained relevant to date. He first gained recognition in the early 2000s as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, producing songs for various artists. He went ahead to pursue a career as a rapper and released his debut album “The College Dropout” in 2004. Kanye founded the “Good Music” record label later that year and has released 10 studio albums and several singles.
He got married to his now-divorced celebrity wife, Kim Kardashian in 2014 and they separated just last year. Throughout his career, West has received several awards and recognition and is the fourth-highest certified artist in the US. He also claims a spot as one of the world’s best-selling artists and has been able to sell over 160 million records, won 24 out of 75 Grammy nominations, and is one of the most decorated artists by the Grammy’s holding a joint record with Jay-Z.
In the fashion industry, Ye has collaborated with big brands like Nike, Louis Vuitton, Gap, A.P.C and Adidas and is the founder of Donda, a creative content company to bring together creative thinkers in a creative space to utilize their ideas in making products and experiences people want and can afford.
The rapper has been described as “controversial” and has been a topic for media discussion on issues ranging from his general views, public conduct, comments on fashion, politics, religion, his divorce, and mental health challenges amongst others. There have been speculations about West’s religious stance especially when the rapper started hosting Sunday services in his musical ministry in 2018 and changed his name to “Ye” which he explained was the most used word in the bible and hence the reason for the adoption. This article will provide answers on Kanye West’s status as a Christian.
Is Kanye West Religious?
Recently, West has been very open with his religious beliefs. It is his public expression of beliefs that even reintroduced him to the forefront of the US music industry.
While addressing a crowd at George Washington University’s Auditorium in 2019, West announced that he’s now fully a Christian convert. Though the artist has always been connected to religion, it was a complex one. With recent developments, it seems the artist has found his religion and saving grace.
He said to the crowd:
“I want to let you know that I am not here for your entertainment this afternoon. We are here to spread the gospel. ‘Excuse me if I mispronounce anything. I am a recent convert. It means I recently got saved within the year.”
Most of the artist’s recent works are religion-oriented. For instance his gospel album “Jesus is King” and the use of religious imagery in his Opera “Mary.” The Opera features performers dressed in white robes with silver paint on their faces, some are made to represent Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus Christ, and a baby is wrapped in a white cloth to represent Jesus. Angels and God are also portrayed in the opera and the performers sing in unison like the heavenly choir. Chants of “Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah” are heard.
In January 2019, West started what he called “Sunday Service,” a religious choir and prayer performance group that features West, a choir, musicians, and some guest performers singing worship songs and gospel songs by West and other artists. Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X, Busy Phillips, Bradley Cooper, etc have been captured performing at the “Sunday Service” and attendance is strictly on invitation.
Kanye disclosed the essence of his Sunday Service to ABC News in 2020. According to the rapper:
“It’s essentially people gathering for song and prayer. It was an idea that we had to open up our hearts and make music that we felt was as pure and as positive as possible. And just do it for an hour every Sunday. And just have somewhere where people can come together and just feel good with their families.”
While running for the office of the US President in the 2020 elections, West talked about his faith and religion and how it has influenced his decisions while addressing the issue of abortion. He also picked a biblical life coach, Michell Tidball as a running mate for the election.
Does Kanye West believe in God?
As someone that talks so much about his faith and beliefs, West has also been expressive of his belief in God. He mentioned that God has been calling him for a long time, but he has always been distracted by the devil and now he is answering that call. The artist believes in God and has uttered this severally.
In an old interview with Vibe, he said that he does not believe in religion or giving it all up to Jesus but only believes in God. However, this impression he created has since changed as the rapper became a full Christian convert in 2019 and continuously acknowledged Jesus. He even mentioned that he is in service to Christ.
In the interview, he said:
“I don’t believe in religion and giving it all up to Jesus and stuff like that. I don’t believe in that. I just believe in God. I would never say that it’s in Jesus’ hands. I believed in Jesus as an icon, and didn’t feel the responsibility to put my life on Jesus.”
In another 2019 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, West said: “Now that God has called me and I now have given my life to Jesus Christ and I work for God, I feel that God is using me, using the choir and using my family to show off… We’re in complete service to God.”
In a recent report by Vogue, West stated:
I thought I had it all figured out, but none of it satisfied him. God has changed “everything, my ego. God put it all together. I’ll tell you what, when I don’t apply grace, I don’t get the results I’m looking for. Everything must be done with grace. That’s one of the things I pray for and I need to pray for more.”
Is Kanye West a Christian?
A Christian is someone who has put his faith and trust in Jesus and his finished work at the cross. A Christian believes in Jesus Christ, God his Father, and other pillars of the religion.
Kanye West has professed his faith in Jesus Christ and Christianity and maintains his love for God. Even before he announced that he is a new Christian convert in 2019, the artist has always referred to Jesus in some of his songs. In his 2004 track, “Jesus Walks” he said:
“Jesus, walk with me
The only thing that I pray is that my feet don’t fail me now
My mama used to say only Jesus can save us
Well mama I know I act a fool
But I’ll be gone ’til November, I got packs to move
I hope
They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, videotape
But if I talk about God my record won’t get played, huh?”
In a 2019 interview with Vogue, when asked about his status as a Christian, he said:
“A lot of times, people try to point out the flaws of people who are Christian. But always remember, Christians are not Christ. We fall short. We all fall short of the glory.”
After producing his bible-themed Opera, “Mary” which he centered on the birth of Jesus, West told Vogue that he wants to use the opera to make music that is a beacon of light or a channel for it. He mentioned also that his Christian faith is an amplifier for everything he does including music and that the true principles of Jesus Christ will make someone a better person.
He revealed that the Opera was to be named initially “Birth of Jesus” but he thought it would be more interesting to tell the story from Mary’s point of view because, unlike Jesus Christ, she was a normal human, frightened by the angel’s message.
When he released his 2019 album, “Jesus is King” West vowed to stop making secular music. He announced that he is now a Christian convert and this was confirmed by fellow celebrities, his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and rapper Nicki Minaj.
He also announced at the listening party for “Jesus is King” held at George Washington’s University that he is a new Christian convert and has been saved. In 2019, West started a gathering he tagged “Sunday Choir” where he gathers invitees to pray and sing gospel songs, something that looks like a personal church.
When asked by Jimmy Kimmel if he is a Christian artist, he said “I’m a Christian everything!”
From every indication, Kanye West appears to be a Christian. However, people still doubt his status as a true Christian.
Is Kanye West Baptized?
The assertion that Kanye has fully embraced his faith follows the baptism of his children and wife Kim, in Armenia. Kanye was pictured in a white garment with his daughter, North during a visit to Jerusalem to be baptized into the Armenian church sometimes referred to as the Vatican of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Since his kids are baptized and he publicly revealed that he has fully converted to Christianity, there is every possibility that Kanye is baptized as well.
What did Kanye West say about Jesus?
While talking to over 12,000 college students at a youth conference, he shared some messages about Jesus in between songs by the Sunday Service Choir, at the conference in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Over a thousand students from the crowd gave their lives to Jesus Christ as evangelist Scott Dawson reported at the end of the conference.
Some of his comments were;
“I believe Jesus died for my sins, Do you know the good news? Jesus can save a wretch like me. Jesus saves, no matter how long you think you’ve been away. No matter how long you’ve been in the dark, the light is right there ready to save. To give you the confidence where they don’t want us to be brave. So you tell the devil today that we’ll no longer be his slave.”
In “God Is” by Kanye West, the artist also expressed his beliefs in Jesus Christ, he said:
“You won’t ever be the same when you call on Jesus’s name listen to the words I’m sayin’ Jesus saved me. Now I’m sane”
Conclusion
Many describe Kanye’s affiliations with Christianity as complicated and a mere public show-off. However, we are not in the position to judge if the artist is a true Christian or not as this can only be known to God. The rapper who rebranded himself as a Christian in recent years has publicly expressed his faith and beliefs in God and Jesus Christ. From our analysis, we consider West a Christian.
Think we were wrong? Write your reasoning in the comments and prove us wrong