Will Smith Religion

Just in case you wonder about Will Smith's religion, Smith (full name: Willard Christopher "Will" Smith Jr.) is a Baptist.





In detail, Smith, 44, was born in West Philadelphia, but also lived in Germantown in Northwest Philadelphia. His mother, Caroline, was a school administrator who worked for the Philadelphia school board, and his father, Willard Christopher Smith, Sr., was a refrigeration engineer. He grew up Baptist in a rough neighborhood in Philadelphia.

Smith claimed he has studied many religions, including Scientology, and he has stated many complimentary things about Scientology and other faiths. Despite his praise of Scientology, Smith was quoted as saying: "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious" and "Ninety-eight percent of the principles in Scientology are identical to the principles of the Bible… I don't think that because the word someone uses for spirit is "thetan" that the definition becomes any different." He has denied having joined the Church of Scientology, explaining "I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions, and I respect all people and all paths," adding: "I was raised in a Baptist household, I went to a Catholic school, but the ideas of the Bible are 98 percent the same ideas of Scientology, 98 percent the same ideas of Hinduism and Buddhism".

It has to be mentioned that Smith donated $1.3 million to charities in 2007, of which $450,000 went to two Christian ministries, and $122,500 went to three Scientology organizations; the remaining beneficiaries included "a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel". Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, have also founded a private elementary school in Calabasas, California, the New Village Leadership Academy, which uses Study Technology, a teaching methodology developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. Federal tax filing showed that Will Smith donated $1.2 million to the school in 2010.

Smith revealed about different types of religion: "You don't have to be Jewish to be a friend of Steven Spielberg. You don't have to be a Muslim to be a friend of Muhammad Ali. And you don't have to be a Scientologist to be a friend of Tom Cruise…I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions. And I respect all people and all paths".


Conclusion: Will Smith is Christian, but he completely respects all religions.


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