Although he may be covered in tattoos from head to toe – quite literally – the only thing more noticeable than… Comedian Shane Smith Body art lately may be his new Catholicism.
And a former motorcycle gang member of course In good company.
Jim Gaffigan, Kevin James, Stephen Colbert, Tom Leopold, Russell Brand, and Rob Schneider are just a few of the comedians who share the same faith – the latter half of the raucous bunch. She converted to Catholicism In adulthood.
The former halfling was completely occupied with preserving Lumen Center for Thought and Culturewhere Cardinal Timothy Dolan is a member of the Board of Directors; Kevin James reportedly hosted a Catholic retreat before the pandemic. Stephen Colbert is famous for teaching Sunday School.
But what drives these comedians towards Catholicism?
Smith, who officially switched last year, gave Fox News Digital a take — by explaining what attracted him to it Old religion.
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“I chose Catholicism for all the rational reasons. I'm a big history guy, and I just thought… You know, if you asked Siri who founded your religion, and you're not Catholic, you'd just say someone's name.
Comedians Kevin James, Shane Smith, and Jim Gaffigan, all of whom identify as practicing Catholics. (Fox News)
“There are (also) very rational reasons outside of history. For example, I read this book called 'Dominion,' which was about a guy who set out to write a book about how religion had screwed up Western civilization and made the world a worse place.
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But it is in his search for a natural explanation that Smith will discover the supernatural:
“I had an experience where I had to go to the Catholic Church for no reason, and I had no education about Catholicism (at the time), so I didn't really understand the Catholic Church in general. Distinctive Christianity And kind of leaning Protestant. But I walked into a Catholic church one afternoon – finally giving in to this compulsion – and had an experience with our Heavenly Mother (Mary). “
Smith went on to describe a “very brief but incredibly powerful” experience that, at the time, he believed was a psychedelic vision of a woman who was “based in a bright white light.”
He described me as “reaching out and touching me.” “And I cried the hardest I've ever cried.”
Smith, who is no stranger to opening up about his “Park” upbringing in partly autobiographical situations, has mostly described his mother as being cruel enough to punch an unconscious “bad dog.” He went on to tell Fox News Digital that his “incredibly surreal” experience with Mother Mary immediately helped heal his relationship with his mother.
“In that moment, a lot of things changed for me. I suddenly felt like a lot of my issues with women were healed. And I felt like my relationship with my mother was healing, and all these other kinds of things happened.”
Smith left the church that day having made the decision to devote his life to Jesus.
And it started with his discovery Marian apparitions.
“It was only then that I discovered that Marian apparitions are something that happens to people and, in fact, are things that sometimes happen to tens of thousands of people at once,” he added. “So, there are rational reasons why I became Catholic, and then the other reason would be the supernatural experience I had with Mary.”
Comedian-turned-Catholic Shane Smith performs before a crowd of Catholics at the annual Seek conference, held in early January in Washington, D.C. (to focus)
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When asked why he thought other comedians might turn toward Catholicism, Smith gave Fox News Digital a surprising answer: suffering.
“I think having a sense of humor…it all relates to suffering. And Catholics are very aware of suffering. They are not afraid of suffering.”
“And in fact, they often call it sometimes too much, and then we get the concept of Catholic guilt, which should not be a thing. Confession, your turn,” he cares. “But yeah, I think it really has to do with suffering. I think Catholics are tuned into suffering and are very aware that their suffering is important and means something, and they're not afraid of that. They're experiencing a kind of .
Smith went on to describe his straits as a comedian, successful host, and podcast host, having started out as an atheist. He said that despite his appearance and previous criminal career, the Catholic community welcomed him with open arms — even after his public conversion led to him losing tens of thousands of followers.
He told Fox News Digital that after starting his career as a guy who rejected religion, once he publicly converted to Catholicism, he was “basically cancelled” by his former fan base.
“I got death threats. People sent stuff to my mom, like it was crazy. And I was like, 'Okay, this is kind of the end of my career.' And that's okay, because faith is more important than money.” “But over time, it has reversed. And now I'm more popular than ever.”
Smith went on to say that his early encounters with fans during the meet and greets when he first achieved his popularity would give him anxiety due to the inappropriate nature of their interactions, explaining that he was “touched by women” and “harassed by drunk people.”
But, since cleaning up his act, his fandom has changed dramatically.
“Now, I meet and greet and people ask me to pray with them. ‘M, like, blown away.’”
Smith hasn't cleaned up his act in the proverbial sense, but he did go on the record live with Fox News Digital: It's self-advertising Cleans comic To boot.
“Because I have Catholic sensibilities, my comedy is digestible by anyone,” he said. “I'm a Catholic person, and that's the main part of my identity and the most important part of me. But as far as my comedy goes, I'm just a storyteller. I like to be as funny as possible to the most amount of people as possible.”
One of Smith's last performances took place in Washington, D.C. during Seek '25, an annual Catholic conference Hosted by Focus. There, Smith performed a stand-up routine on opening night to a captivated crowd that he described as nothing less than “genre.”
“I would recommend the pursuit to anyone of any age. It is Comic-Con for Catholics,“He's late.” I went looking and saw that Catholicism, though deeply personal, is also deeply communal…The Way loves us, and it is, you know, without limits.”
Brock Martin, son of Focus founder, spoke to Fox News Digital at the SEEK conference about the group's mission.
“When focus works with people…the first experience will be an experience of God's love and His plan for you,” Martin said. “This is an earth-shattering truth, that the God of the universe—the same one who made the universe—like, knows your name, has a plan for you, wants you to thrive, wants to spend eternity with you…”
In acknowledging God's plan for his life, Smith said he realized he could not keep Catholicism for himself.
“I realized that, to just stay home and make my faith a personal thing, or just read the Bible, or just be Catholic and keep that to myself…wasn't the point. And it wasn't ultimately the fulfilling and rewarding experience I needed,” the comedian concluded.
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To hear more from Shane Smith, fans can check out his new “Ghost Stories.” Angel Studios Dry strip comedy.
