Why are comedians trending towards Catholicism? A quirky comic offers a surprising explanation

Although he may be covered in tattoos from head to toe, there is literally only one thing that is obvious. by comedian Shayne Smith Body art may be his new Catholicism lately.

And a former motorcycle gang member, no doubt in good company

Jim Gaffigan, Kevin James, Stephen Colbert, Tom Leopold, Russell Brand and Rob Schneider are just a few other comedians who share the same faith; he converted to Catholicism in their adulthood.

The former half has been just as busy keeping Catholicism alive: Gaffigan recently performed Sheen Center for Thought and Culturein which Cardinal Timothy Dolan is a member of the council; Kevin James reportedly organized a Catholic retreat before the pandemic; and Stephen Colbert is known for teaching Sunday school.

But what drives these comedians towards Catholicism?

Smith, who became an official last year, opened up to Fox News Digital about what drew him to her in the first place. old religion

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“I chose Catholicism for all rational reasons. I’m a big history guy, and I thought… you know, if you ask Sir who started your religion, and you’re not Catholic, he’ll say the name. some guys (But) who started your church if you ask him, and you’re Catholic, he’ll say, so I thought it was a good start.

“There are also very rational reasons outside of history. For example, I read this book called ‘Dominion,’ about a guy who set out to write a book about how religion messed up Western civilization and made the world a worse place. And he accidentally discovered Christianity and specifically , Catholicism, becoming Christian responsible for hospitals, the modern university system of scientific discoveries, and, in general, Western civilization.’

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But looking for a natural explanation, Smith found the supernatural:

“I had an experience where I was forced to join a Catholic Church for no reason, and I had no Catholic education (at the time), so I didn’t understand the Catholic Church in general. recognizing Christianity and kind of a crooked protestant. But one evening I entered a Catholic church – I finally gave in to this compulsion – and had an experience with our heavenly mother (Mary).”

Smith described a “very brief but incredibly powerful” experience that, at the time, he “believed to be a psychedelic vision of a woman based on a bright white light.”

“He reached out and touched me,” she described. “And I cried the hardest I’ve ever cried.”

Smith, no stranger to his “trailer park” upbringing in his autobiographical opening of stand-ups, described his mother, especially single, hard enough that he once punched the unconscious “a bad dog”. He told Fox News Digital that his “incredibly surreal” experience with Mother Mary helped heal his relationship with his mother.

“At that moment, a lot of things changed for me. Suddenly, I felt like a lot of my problems with women were healed. And I felt like my relationship with my mother was healing, and all these other things happened. .”

Smith left the church that day with the decision to dedicate his life to Jesus.

And that started with his discovery Marian apparitions.

“It was only then that I discovered that Marian apparitions are a thing that happens to people, and in fact they are things that sometimes happen to tens of thousands of people at the same time,” he added. “So there are rational reasons why I became a Catholic, and the other reason would be the supernatural experience I had with Mary.”

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When asked why he thinks other comedians might gravitate toward Catholicism, Smith offered a surprising answer to Fox News Digital: suffering.

“I think having a sense of humor… everything is related to suffering. And Catholics are very aware of suffering. They are not afraid of suffering,” he affirmed.

“And the truth is, they often invite sometimes too much, and then we get the concept of Catholic guilt, which shouldn’t be a thing. We’re the only religion that has a built-in system of guilt mitigation. Like, go here. Confession, fool,” he said. “But yes, I think it’s related to suffering. I think Catholics are very attuned to suffering and are very aware that their suffering has something important and means something, and they are not afraid of it. And I think that’s essential to have a good mood.”

Smith described his emergence as a struggling and successful comedian and podcast host, having started out as an atheist. He said that despite his appearance and former criminal career, the Catholic community has welcomed him with open arms, even though his public conversion lost tens of thousands of followers.

He told Fox News Digital that after starting his stand-up career as a man who rejected religion, when he publicly converted to Catholicism, he was “basically abandoned” by his former fans.

“I got death threats. People emailed my mom like she was crazy. And I was like, ‘okay, okay, this is kind of the end of my career.’ And that’s okay, because faith is more important than money,” he continued. “But over time, the path has been reversed. And now I’m more popular than ever.”

Smith said that his first encounters with fans when he first rose to fame would give him anxiety due to inappropriate interactions, explaining that he was “touched” and “harassed” by women. because of drunks.”

But, since he cleaned up his act, his fandom has changed dramatically.

“Now, I get meet and greets and people ask me to pray the rosary with them. The women are so kind and gentle with me. People are giving me handwritten letters of encouragement and everything is so much nicer and lighter and kinder, I’m blown away.

Smith hasn’t cleaned up his act in the proverbial sense, but rather set the record straight with Fox News Digital: He’s self-proclaimed. clear comedian to start

“Because I have a Catholic sensibility, anyone can digest my comedy,” he said. “I’m a Catholic person, and that’s the center of my identity and the most important part of me. But when it comes to my comedy, I’m just a storyteller. I’d like to be as funny as possible for as many people as possible.”

One of Smith’s last performances was in Washington, D.C., at SEEK ’25, an annual Catholic conference. Organized by the organization Focus. There, Smith performed a stand-up routine on opening night to a rapturous crowd he described as just “the type.”

“I would recommend SEEK to anyone of any age Catholic Comic-Con,“, he mocked. ” I went to SEARCH and I saw that Catholicism, although very personal, is very common… (God) wants us to come to him, together… He wants us to care and love each other and ourselves. the way he loves us, which is, you know, infinitely.”

Brock Martin, son of the founder of Focus, spoke with Fox News Digital at the SEEK conference about the group’s mission.

“Whenever Focus is working with people … the first experience would be the experience of God’s love and His plan for you,” Martin said. “That is the earth-shattering reality that the God of the universe—the same person who made the cosmos—knows your name, has a plan for you, wants you to flourish, wants to spend eternity with you…”

In recognizing God’s plan for his life, Smith said he realized he couldn’t keep his Catholicism to himself.

“I realized, staying at home and making my faith something personal, or reading the Bible, or being Catholic and keeping it to myself… was not the point. And it wasn’t ultimately a joyful and rewarding experience. I needed it,” concluded the comedian.

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To hear more from Shayne Smith, fans can check out his new special ‘Ghost Stories’ Angel Studios’ Dry Bar Comedy.