WHAT RELIGION MEANS TO LANA DEL REY

 

Lana Del Rey grew up as a catholic and even sang in her church choir. She attended a catholic school called, St. Agnes until she was fifteen and then went on to attend another religious school called, Kent School. In an interview with Pitchfork, Del Rey reveals that “God has saved me a million times.” This quote has lead other interviewers to question her religious views and values and through those interviews, I will share what religion means to Lana Del Rey.

 

John Calvert (of The Quietus) conducted an interview Lana Del Rey and asked her many thought provoking questions about her life, her career, her music and her inspiration. Later in the interview, he asked more in depth and personal questions, for example, about her religious views.

 

Calvert started the question by quoting what she had told Pitchfork in a previous interview. Del Rey states that “my understanding of God has come from my own personal experiences…” She then divulges further that she got herself into a lot of trouble multiple times when she was living in New York and that is what made her start to truly believe in God. She says that “When things get bad enough, your only resort is to lie in bed and start praying.” Del Rey says that she doesn’t really believe in congregating once a week to practice prayer but she believes that “there is a divine power you can call on.” She also says that her approach to religion is the same as her approach to music: “I take what I want and leave the rest.”

 

An interview by Melissa Giannini from Nylon also brought about several good points about Lana Del Rey’s religious views. When Del Rey was asked about her Catholic upbringing she said, “I loved Church, I loved the mysticism, the idea of something bigger, the idea of a divine plan.” She also says that “the concept of religion transitioned into a really healthy idea of God.” Del Rey goes on to further say that she doesn’t have the traditional views of a Catholic but being in the cathedral opened up a lot of her imagination.

 

The fact that Del Rey says that being in a cathedral unlocked her imagination is proof that religion has affected her music in a very positive way. While her songs could not be considered religious in any way, it is evident that religion has impacted Del Rey’s life and she chose to express that in the most noble way she could: by music.