{"id":10148,"date":"2023-10-25T19:15:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T01:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wakeupcall\/?p=10148"},"modified":"2023-10-26T06:26:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T12:26:15","slug":"is-dolly-parton-religious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wakeupcall\/2023\/10\/is-dolly-parton-religious\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Dolly Parton Religious?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/a>

A wall mural of Dolly by Gus Cutty, Asheville, NC. Photo via Wes McFee and Unsplash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

She\u2019s an American icon.<\/strong> A beloved singer and actress, just the thought of Dolly Parton has the power bring a smile to your face. And if you\u2019ve ever seen her interviewed, you can almost sense there\u2019s a deeply spiritual side to Dolly.<\/p>\n

While Dolly goes to church, it\u2019s not part of any organized religion<\/a>, and she doesn\u2019t consider herself religious. There\u2019s a story behind that. As reported by Stephanie Harper on the website Distractify<\/em>, Dolly \u201conce thought of God as a monster\u201d and \u201cshe grew up afraid of religion.\u201d It may be because her grandfather was the preacher at the church she attended and had a very Old-Testament-y, fire and brimstone view of God<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What church does Dolly go to today?<\/strong> In another interview, the songstress revealed it\u2019s a private chapel located in the backyard of her Tennessee home. A friend says \u201cShe spends time there most every day she\u2019s home. She not only prays there, but she often goes there to write spiritual songs. (Her husband of 56 years) Carl goes as well, and it\u2019s their quiet place to reflect, pray, and give thanks<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolly Parton may not be religious\u2014but is spiritual.<\/strong><\/h3>\n In her 2020 book\u00a0Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics,<\/em>\u00a0the singer wrote: \u201cI\u2019m not that religious, but I\u2019m very, very spiritual. I grew up in very religious surroundings. I grew up with a Bible<\/a> background, and I\u2019m glad I did. I know my Bible stories.\u201d She learned early on to rely on prayer to get her through life\u2019s crises. \u201cA belief in God is essential,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n In the book, she also revealed that one way she connects with God<\/a> is through nature. She explains, \u201cA lot of people think that because I look so artificial, I never spend time outside \u2026 I love to be out in nature \u2026 I sit under trees to write songs. I listen to God\u2019s voice through the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n A couple of recent interviews featured at the magazine Southern Living<\/em> again show the spiritual side of Parton, who is now 77 years of age. In fact, it\u2019s hard to find an interview where her spirituality is not discussed. It seems to be an integral part of who she is and how she lives.<\/p>\n When asked about her spirituality, she said she lives it each day<\/strong>. In her words, \u201cYou know, that\u2019s how you practice<\/a> it. You just live it and be it. A lot of people overthink spirituality, you know? And they, therefore they think it has to be some big ritual.\u201d But for Dolly it\u2019s really quite simple. It\u2019s all about living with the awareness God is always present.<\/p>\n Five points of spiritual wisdom from Dolly Parton.<\/strong><\/h3>\n A few of my favorite quotes from the Southern Living<\/em><\/a> stories follow, the first being a nod to Luke 17:21. Some of the others showcase her belief that the person most responsible for our happiness is life is the one we see in the mirror each day.<\/p>\n \n\u201cThe kingdom of heaven is inside. It\u2019s right inside of you. And you can draw from that wisdom<\/a>, whether you call it God or higher wisdom or a higher knowing, there\u2019s something bigger than you.<\/li>\nI don\u2019t think you have to be a saint. I don\u2019t think you have to be so strict that you can\u2019t have fun. You know, it\u2019s all about the intent of your heart.<\/li>\nWe make our own choices as to whether we\u2019re going to be happy<\/a> or whether we\u2019re going to be miserable. It\u2019s a choice. Everything\u2019s a choice.<\/li>\nYou can change things for the good, you can change things for the bad, but you can\u2019t be so damn stubborn that you\u2019re not willing to even try.<\/li>\nI often say that I was born with a happy heart, but boy, my heart gets heavy so much these days. And then I just keep trying to think of ways that I can make a personal difference.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Dolly Parton quietly makes a difference<\/strong>. Over the years, she has donated her time and money<\/a> to numerous charitable causes and has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. In 2022, billionaire Jeff Bezos donated $100 million to her Dollywood Foundation, and she uses the funds to donate to her favorite charities and to continue her own charitable work.<\/p>\n In researching Dolly\u2019s spiritual nature, I stumbled upon a subreddit called r\/Christianity<\/a> that discusses various aspects of Christian life.\u00a0It might be no surprise that Dolly has fans there as well, with one person posting \u201cI feel she\u2019s been an excellent example of what a Christian can be.\u201d Another contributor states:<\/p>\n "\n***** ** *****I <\/em>would argue that Dolly Parton lives out her Christian ideals and is the closest thing that we have to the Dalai Lama in the U.S.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There may be some truth to that idea: Dolly Parton is the closest person in the U.S. to the Dalai Lama<\/a>. We would all do well to follow her lead.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" She\u2019s an American icon. A beloved singer and actress, just the thought of Dolly Parton has the power bring a smile to your face. And if you\u2019ve ever seen her interviewed, you can almost sense there\u2019s a deeply spiritual side to Dolly. While Dolly goes to church, it\u2019s not part of any organized religion, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1184,"featured_media":10154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[136,48],"tags":[2222],"class_list":["post-10148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion","category-spirituality-2","tag-dolly-parton"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Dolly Parton Religious?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A beloved singer and actress, just the thought of Dolly Parton has the power bring a smile to your face. 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