+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Billie Eilish says that she was 'super religious' as a kid even though her family wasn't: 'That went on for years'

Jul 21, 2020, 21:35 IST
Insider
Billie Eilish is a Grammy Award-winning musician.Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
  • Billie Elish spoke about her faith as a child during a recent episode of her Apple Music podcast "me & dad radio."
  • "When I was little, like when I was a little kid, I was super religious for no damn reason," the 18-year-old musician said.
  • She added, "My family never was religious. I didn't know anyone that was religious. And for some reason, as a little girl, I just was incredibly religious."
  • Though her strong religious views remained in place for years, Eilish said they "completely went away" at one point.
Advertisement

Billie Eilish recalled being an "incredibly religious" child, though she's since changed her beliefs.

After analyzing the song "One of Us" by Joan Osborne during a recent episode of her Apple Music podcast "me & dad radio," the musician, 18, spoke about her childhood faith and the impact it's had on her current religious views.

"I don't know if any of you know — I don't think I've ever talked about it. When I was little, like when I was a little kid, I was super religious for no damn reason," she explained.

Eilish continued, "My family never was religious. I didn't know anyone that was religious. And for some reason as a little girl, I just was incredibly religious. That went on for years."

She held onto her faith before it suddenly vanished, at which point she became "almost anti-religious."

Advertisement

"At one point, I don't know what happened. It just completely went away," she recalled. "It was weird. Because then I had a couple of years of being like almost anti-religious for no reason also. And I don't know why that happened. I don't know what made me that way."

Since then, Eilish said she's gained an appreciation for all faiths and enjoyed learning about what others believe. She called people with "closed minds" are "pathetic" and "lame."

"I've loved the idea of other beliefs. I think people with closed minds, you know like people like me from a couple years ago, I think that's very pathetic to have a closed mind, and it's very lame. I love hearing people's beliefs. I love talking about what people believe in and hearing why they believe in it and what makes them believe in it, especially if I don't agree," she said.

Patrick O'Connell, Eilish's father, chimed in to add that he and Eilish's mother, Maggie Baird, were always supportive of their daughter's beliefs throughout her upbringing in Los Angeles.

Billie Eilish has spoken about her parents, Maggie Baird and Patrick O'Connell, in several interviews.Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

Advertisement

"From my point of view as a parent, we did not go to church. We didn't really talk about religion at all. It wasn't in our household very much. You just believed," O'Connell told her. "You had this organized thought about the whole thing, and I thought it was pretty marvelous. I didn't object to it. I didn't say, 'You can't believe that.'"

Eilish agreed, stating that she's now in a "very neutral position" and "open to every belief pretty much."

"I love the idea that there's a God, so why not? How would I know?" she asked. "How am I going to say I know? I don't. Nobody knows."

Listen to the full interview below (Eilish and O'Connell begin speaking about religion at the 1:38:28 mark).

O'Connell has previously spoken about Eilish's ability to create her own art and ideas from a young age.

Advertisement

"I love her take on the world. She has always said and done interesting things – especially taking pictures," he told Nardwuar Serviette in 2019.

He continued, "I used to make whole files of her pictures and make slideshows out of them and set them to music. She'd take all these pictures, and it was all entirely on her own. I didn't discover they were there until I was going through the memory card on the camera."

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article