Hollywood talks about faith, God

Who says Hollywood's lips are sealed when it comes to the subject of faith, religion and God? Here are some quotable quotes from the world's most famous celebrities that reveal interesting and varying levels of spirituality no different from ordinary folks from the streets and from this part of the world.

"Not having enough interest in the mysteries of life to ask the question, 'Is there a God or is there not a God?'-that is for me the worst thing that can happen. I think you should have an opinion about that. Or you should be saying, 'I'm looking. I'm very curious about this, and I am going to continue to look until I can find an answer, and if I can't find an answer, then I'll die trying.' I think it is important to have a belief system and to have faith." - George Lucas, creator of "Star Wars" (from the book What Hollywood Believes)

"Jesus is there for us in the Scriptures. How often do we ignore Him? We must shake off this indifference. Only the Faith and the wisdom of the Church can save us, but it requires men and women, warriors ready to risk their good names, even their very lives to stand up for the truth." - "Passion of the Christ" actor Jim Caviezel (from FreeRepublic.com, March 2004)

"Everybody thinks of God as a different thing. To me, God is that greater, higher energy-that greater, wiser wisdom. It's that thing in all of us that we all have to draw from. I've always trusted God and trusted myself, which to me are intertwined. I'm a creative person, and what gifts I have come from that divine place that I try to tap into. So who have I got to be afraid of?"- Country singer Dolly Parton (from What Hollywood Believes)

"I said you know . . . I said this is going to be an interesting journey. This is not going to be boring. But I never had a moment where I fell to my knees and said . . . 'Oh, God, this is horrible. You know, Why has Thou forsaken me? What is this?' I never had that moment. What I had was 'wow.' Okay. That's not what I was expecting." - "Back to the Future" star Michael J. Fox, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease

"I believe in God and I believe, therefore, in the opposite: the devil and evil forces. Everyone has their own interpretation of that. Some people think the devil-they take the 'd' away and you have evil. Is there something up in the clouds? Probably not. But we, as people, are much better off if we do believe in good and evil." - Action star turned California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (from What Hollywood Believes)

"I feel a heartfelt God. I don't particularly think that God wants me thinking about Him all the time. I think that would be a tremendous burden on Him, you know. He's got enough people asking Him for favors. He's got enough people asking Him to pull strings." - Singer/songwriter, poet Bob Dylan

"Catholicism guides me. I certainly have a strong belief. I try to go to church regularly, and I try to go to confession." - Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman (from Catholic.org)

"I love hymns and gospel music, but the idea of turning your music into a tool for evangelism is missing the point… The most powerful idea that's entered the world in the last few thousand years-the idea of grace-is the reason I would like to be a Christian." - Bono, Nobel Peace Prize nominated lead singer/songwriter of U2

"I'm just trying to say, The way school need teachers / The way Kathie Lee needed Regis / That's the way y'all need Jesus / So here go my single, dog / Radio needs this." - Six-time Grammy award-winning record producer and rapper Kanye West on "Jesus Walks" single, September 2004

"I think [God's] always been there… God is different in different books because it depends on the people you're writing about. I don't see myself as God's stenographer. As someone who believes in God, believes that God is a logical outgrowth of the fact that life fits together as well as it does, but that doesn't mean that we know God's mind."- Horror novelist and screenwriter Stephen King (from What Hollywood Believes)

"I've probably read 95% of the words in the Bible. Probably 60% of the Torah. 70% of the Koran. And the thing that is so amazing to me is how everybody, in essence, believes the same thing. I just can't understand how we get from such similar beliefs to murdering one another. My beliefs are that individuals have to create relationships with God. You can't listen to what the preacher says-you have to read the Bible yourself and make your interpretation." - "Pursuit of Happyness" star Will Smith, (from Blender, June 2005)

"It's all a quest. We're all searching for fulfillment and for purpose. We can't find that without God. We'll find something . . . Is it yoga? Is it promotion and prestige? Is it fame? Is it shopping? Is it being highly favored by men and by peers? Something is at the center of our lives, and for me it's God." - Angela Bassett, Emmy and Academy-nominated actress of "Waiting to Exhale," "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" (from LA Times, October 2006)

"I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do." - the late "Superman" star Christopher Reeves