Actor, comedian, and podcaster Russell Brand got baptized over the weekend, a major shift for someone who once was a proponent of Buddhism and now speaks about praying the rosary, learning about the Christian faith, and how a new life follows baptism. Speaking about his baptism, Brand said that this is his “path now.”
As background, Brand announced that he would be baptized on X a few days before the baptism ended up occurring on Sunday, April 28. In the video announcing his baptism, Brand said that he sees baptism as “an opportunity to die and be reborn; an opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ’s name like it says in Galatians — that you can live as an enlightened and awakened person.”
He later added that the modern world lacks meaning of the sort Christianity provides, saying, “I know a lot of people are sort of cynical about the increasing interest in Christianity and the return to God, but to me, it’s obvious.” He added, “As meaning deteriorates in the modern world, as our value systems and institutions crumble, all of us become increasingly aware that there is this eerily familiar awakening and beckoning figure that we’ve all known all of our lives, within us and around us. And for me, it’s very exciting.”
In any case, speaking about getting baptized in a video posted to X on Monday, April 29, Brand said that the event was an incredible experience. Beginning, he said, “Yesterday I got baptized, and it was an incredible, profound experience.”
Continuing, he described the spiritual experience as “overwhelming,” even when compared to the substances he has consumed while chasing a way to fill the void that this baptism and the faith surrounding it eventually did. Explaining as much, he said, “Many aspects of it were very intimate and personal. The truth is this, as a person who has in the past, taken many, many substances and always been disappointed with their inability to deliver the kind of tranquility and peace and even transcendence that I’ve always felt I’ve been looking for … something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible; overwhelming.”
Brand added that he feels like a new person now, saying, “I felt changed. Transitioned.” Similarly, he noted, “I feel as if some new resource within me has switched on.” He then said, “This is new for me, I’m learning … but this is my path now,” Brand said. “And I already feel incredibly blessed, relieved, nourished, held. It’s been an incredible experience.” Concluding, he said, “I’m so grateful to be surrendered in Christ.”
Watch Brand describe his baptism here:
Watch Brand announce he would be baptized here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video