Answer: No
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.
Award-winning actor, movie director, and narrator Morgan Freeman is popular for his role and distinctive voice in the 2016 documentary, “The Story of God.”
Freeman was born in 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, and has graced the American movie scene for over five decades, making him one of the oldest actors in the industry. His deep and unique voice has earned him lead roles in several movies.
Freeman started acting in high school plays and appeared in several stage plays. He got his first acting gig in 1970 in a Children’s television series “The Electric Company” and later appeared in Shakespearean plays “Coriolanus” and “Julius Caesar.” The actor has starred in many movies throughout his lengthy career and has won numerous awards including; Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Tony Awards, Golden Icon Award, MTV Movie Awards, and Primetime Emmy Awards among others.
Morgan Freeman has been featured in several religious movies and series, some of which are; “The Story of God” series, Bruce Almighty (2003), and Evan Almighty (2007) where the veteran acted as God. He has been in the midst of various religious conversations and has been linked to several religions including Christianity. This article will answer the persistent question of Morgan Freeman being a Christian.
Is Morgan Freeman Religious?
For someone that has featured in a series of religious films and has acted in deeply religious roles, many have already labeled the movie star, a “religious person.” The actor claims that he is not religious but his role in these religious movies has been an eye-opener. He has publicly expressed his interest in religion and spirituality.
In 2016, Freeman started a six-series documentary titled “The Story of God” which will have the actor visit several religious and isolated sites related to different religions. The actor revealed that the essence of the documentary was to explore faith and spirituality and find out about the big questions of life. What’s our purpose on earth? Why are we here? How did we get here? Is there God? What is behind the secret of a different faith? Who is God? and find out about evil, miracles, end of days, and resurrection.
Morgan revealed that he was shocked at the number of people that were on a journey with God and he hopes his series will help people on the journey of finding God.
In a 2016 interview with Premier Christian News, he said:
“My hope, I suppose, is that the audience will connect and find value in The Story Of God because I connected and found value in making it. We are all in search of our truth, I found that a very unifying and surprising revelation as I was on this journey.”
Later in 2019, in an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Freeman revealed that he has always been interested in knowing about the existence of God which could be an explanation for why he had accepted to take the “God” role in certain movies and produce the documentary “The Story of God” to find out about God and different religions. In the interview, he said:
“I’ve always wondered about the existence of God. My grandmother was a stout religious person. My mother followed preachers around in the South, so I got to go to a lot of churches and see people who had all kinds of interactions with religion, it’s just been like a fester in me.”
When AARP asked him what he learned after his years of playing “God” in movies and searching for answers on religion, he said:
“Learning what religion I most closely align myself with. It was an eye-opener for me, just a stunning realization, that If I can claim a religion, it’s Zoroastrianism.”
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the oldest religions that is based on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster. The main belief of the religion is that there is one universal, transcendent, all-good, and supreme creator deity and according to Freeman, “It is a belief system that is intrinsically me: ‘Good thoughts, good words, good deeds’ pretty much sums it up.”
After his documentary, Morgan disclosed that all three major religions in the world; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam drew tenets from themselves and largely from Zoroastrianism. He mentioned that through his life journeys, he has been most impacted by Zoroastrianism and if he is to claim any religion, it will be Zoroastrianism.
Does Morgan Freeman believe in God?
Morgan Freeman has played God in some Hollywood movies and has used his distinct voice to make people feel that it’s really how God sounds, but what is his belief in God like?
In an interview with the US Science Channel in 2013, the actor categorically stated that he does not believe in God because his belief system does not support it. The actor reiterated that if he believes in God, it’s because he thinks he(himself) is God. In his words:
“Well, here’s a scientific question: Has anybody ever seen hard evidence?”What we get are theories from our earlier prophets. Now, people who think that God invented us think that the Earth can’t be more than 6,000 years old. So I guess it’s a question of belief. My belief system doesn’t support a creator as such, as we can call God, who created us in His/Her/Its image. So if I believe in God, and I do, it’s because I think I’m God”
He was once asked in an interview if he believed in God, Freeman replied: “It’s a hard question because as I said at the start, I think we invented God. So if I believe in God, and I do, it’s because I think I’m God.” He later said that his experience working on “The Story of God with Morgan Freeman” did not change his views on religion.
Freeman told the Hollywood Reporter in an interview that he does not know if God exists and does not know much about him. He does not also believe in a higher power but mentioned that God is present in our minds. Freeman’s religion, Zoroastrianism believes in “one universal and supreme god” who is called the “Ahura Mazda” or the “Wise Lord.”
Is Morgan Freeman a Christian?
Christianity is one of the largest religions in the world. Wikipedia reports that the religion has over 2.4 billion followers which represent one-third of the global population. Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, the belief in Jesus as the son of God whose coming was prophesied in the old testament and came to reality in the new testament.
Morgan Freeman has been exposed to various religions since he was a child. The actor revealed that he has worked on so many religions to discover the one that suits him. In 2019, he told Hollywood Reporter that he went to churches a lot because his grandmother was very religious. According to him:
“I’ve always wondered about the existence of God. My grandmother was a stout religious person. My mother followed preachers around in the South, so I got to go to a lot of churches and see people who had all kinds of interactions with religion.”
In the course of his documentary, Freeman disclosed that the highlight of it was when he visited Joel Osteen’s church in Houston. He heard the pastor address his congregation and told them about God and was surprised at the large number of people that were on a journey with God. He concluded that “My hope, I suppose, is that the audience will connect and find value in The Story Of God because I connected and found value in making it, We are all in search of our truth.”
Freeman used his documentary “The Story of God” to explore different religions and find out what they entail. The actor revealed that from his findings, every religion tries to bring people together. He said, “In almost every society, whatever the religion is the point is to keep the people together functioning as a unit.”
He pointed out that Christianity has been a genuine improvement over other older religions. Freeman has refuted claims of being a Christian due to the movie roles he acted as a Christian figure and has disclosed he is a Zoroastrian, a religion that is believed to have influenced major religions like; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Is Morgan Freeman Baptized?
Morgan Freeman revealed that his grandmother was religious but his dad was not at a point. He hasn’t disclosed if he is baptized or not into Christianity or any other religion. The actor only mentioned that he believes in “Zoroastrianism.
What did Morgan Freeman Say about Jesus?
As one who does not believe in Christianity, Freeman has not had much to say about Jesus but has referenced him a few times in the course of producing his documentary “Story of God.” While narrating a scene in the documentary, he said:
“Jesus is not the only example of human incarnation of God. The Egyptian pharaohs and the emperors of the Inca were all considered divine. Makes you wonder, why do people want to see God walk among us?”
Final Thoughts
Freeman has been interested in issues of religion, faith, and spirituality since his childhood. The actor/author has been on the quest to find the truth about the existence of God, human’s purpose on earth and the secret behind different existing religions. He has made some findings which he shared in his documentaries and books. Freeman has identified with a not-so-popular religion known as “Zoroastrianism” so, the actor is not a Christian.
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