There’s a lot of confusion surrounding renowned Canadian-American actor Jim Carrey’s religious beliefs, so we’re going to clear up the rumors.
Jim Carrey was raised in Newmarket Ontario as a Roman Catholic but over the years he has been linked with Scientology, Christianity, and Transcendentalism. The confusion around Carrey’s religion is founded on the fact that he hasn’t dedicated himself to just one. Carrey has been known to refer to God, Buddha, and Eckhart all in the same breath.
Read below to find out more about Carrey’s religious beliefs and how his awareness of a higher power.
An Existential Crisis
Carrey is world-famous for both his comedic and dramatic acting and has been the tour-de-force in award-winning films like The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Carrey is also well-known for his well-publicized ‘existential crisis’, which occurred after playing Andy Kaufman in the movie Man on the Moon.
When filming concluded, Carrey found himself questioning his entire existence.
Carrey’s existential crisis over his own identity drove him to the epiphany that “We are everything. We are nothing. We are atoms”. From this Carrey embarked on a journey to find the purpose of life with both religious and spiritual aids.
Cathriona White & Christianity
His religious and spiritual journey took another turn in 2015 after the death of his former girlfriend, Cathriona White.
This incident resulted in Carrey giving a moving speech at Homeboy Industries, a youth rehabilitation program in Los Angeles, where he told attendees “I believe that this room is filled with God”.
In his speech, Carrey regularly mentions God and references the doctrine of soteriology. These references aren’t uncommon for Carrey and would initially suggest he’s a catholic.
However, when asked about his religion 2004 by Steve Kroft Carrey said “I’m a Buddhist, I’m a Muslim, I’m a Christian. I’m whatever you want me to be. It all comes down to the same thing…you’re either in a loving place, or you’re in an unloving place”.
It would seem Carrey’s references to God and biblical passages are done to depict a relatable scene, as opposed to affirming his devotion to the Christian faith.
Spiritual Views
When it comes to spiritual views, the actor firmly believes in the “law of attraction” in that positive thoughts bring about positive outcomes, while negative thoughts bring about negative experiences.
Perhaps Carrey’s fascination with the law of attraction comes from his own experience. In 1985 he wrote himself a check for $10 million in ‘acting services rendered’ dated for 1995.
When November of 1995 rolled around, Carrey received $10 million for his role in the movie Dumb and Dumber, effectively self-gifting his good fortune.
Carrey also practices Transcendental Meditation techniques (silent mantra meditation), a technique that’s been described as both religious and non-religious.
The actor has also made references to omnipresence, the state of being widespread, or constantly encountered. This phrase is widely linked to the idea of a supreme being.
You can watch Jim Carrey talk about his religious beliefs in a motivational speech in the below YouTube video.
A Risky Tweet
In 2013 Carrey once again spoke his mind on religion, but this time he managed to upset a particularly large demographic.
The tweet read “I thnk organized religion is fading and changing the Pope was a corporate maneuver bt how u workshops is your choice.”
Carrey’s stance against organized religion offended a number of his followers who declared him as ignorant.
See Carrey’s tweet and some of the responses that it drew, below.
A Religious All-rounder?
It’s clear that Carrey immerses himself in multiple religions and that his journey to understand his purpose has played a part in his ever-changing preferences.
Carrey believes in the existence of a supreme being, but who that being is we just don’t know.