Elvis Presley was extremely open with his fans when he was still a relatively young and unknown singer. At just 21-years-old the born-and-bred Mississippi star responded to countless letters in the fan magazine Elvis Answers Back. During one essay he ranted about religion, and how the press “shouldn’t” have been talking about his private life.
Elvis titled the feature “My True Religion”. He began the passage by quoting an article that commented on his religious views.
The article read: “Presley got his start by singing in a church choir, but fame has made him forget all about religion.”
The young Blue Suede Shoes singer scoffed at this notion. “I sat right down and cut that out of the paper and put it in an envelope and send it home for my momma to put in my scrapbook,” he recalled. “I expected they’d start saying things like that. About me not being religious. I mean. But this was the first time I’d seen it anywhere.” (sic)
He went on to say it wasn’t “right” for people to say things “like that” about him.
Elvis then opened up about the truth about how religious he really was. He revealed that he had been brought up Christian by his parent.
He said: “No, I don’t go to church regular anymore, if that’s what they mean by religious. Being on the road all the time, and traveling every minute I’m not working, I can’t ever be sure when I’ll have a Sunday free to myself. I wish I could, just like I wish I could be with my folks more often, but I can’t. So if they mean just going to church regularly makes you religious, then I guess I don’t fit up to what they want.”
Despite the setback of being on tour and not being able to get to church very often, Elvis opened up about his beliefs. He said: “I want you to know this. I believe in God, I believe in Him with all my heart.”
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Elvis added that “all good things come from God”. He continued: “That includes all the good things that have come to me and to my folks. And the way I feel about it, being religious means that you love God and are real grateful for all He’s given, and want to work for Him.”
The Jailhouse Rock singer said he felt “deep in his heart” that everything he did was all for God. He added that he “owed everything” to God.
Even though Elvis was young when he wrote this essay, he maintained his beliefs through to his adulthood. In 1976 he reportedly met with TV evangelist Rex Humbard to discuss the possibility of the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Rex said of the meeting: “It really shocked me that Elvis knew all of those Scriptures from the Old and New Testaments about the Lord’s return.”
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Rex noted that, when Elvis was playing guitar, he was “reaching back to his childhood” when he would attend church and sing for the congregation.
“I could see he was reaching back to the past,” he added. “That spirituality, that feeling that he had years and years before that had been planted in his heart.”
Elvis died on August 16, 1977. Naturally, his funeral had many notes of religious ceremony, including gospel singers and prayers throughout the service.
Years later, his ex-wife Priscilla Presley spoke about how his religion was a key point in his life.
Priscilla said Elvis “always had a Bible with him”. She added that he became even more filled with faith as the years went on.
He even turned to other spiritual books towards the final years of his life when he was looking for answers. She said: “Now, faced with ever-deepening despair, he began looking to other philosophical books for answers and guidance. He read the works of Kahlil Gibran. One book, in particular, The Prophet, inspired him. He became so enamoured [with] these books that he passed them out to friends, fellow actors, and fans. They appealed to his religious nature and he loved bringing people together ‘in the spirit of one underlying force – Almighty God.'”
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