The religious views of the English rock band the Beatles evolved over time and differed among members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
Although all four Beatles were associated with either Protestantism or Roman Catholicism in their childhood, they had all abandoned their religious upbringings by 1964. In 1965, while filming for Help! in the Bahamas, a Hindu gave each of them a copy of a book on reincarnation. This encounter is widely regarded as having sparked the band's interest in Indian culture.
In March 1966, Lennon remarked to a journalist from the Evening Standard that the Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus". The comment went unnoticed until, in August of the same year, the American magazine Datebook republished it, inciting protests against the Beatles. The band was threatened, their records were publicly burned, and some radio stations refused to play their songs.
After the Beatles' 1966 US tour, Harrison broadened his interest of Indian culture to include Hinduism. He and his wife Pattie Boyd went on a pilgrimage to Mumbai to meet gurus. In 1968, all four Beatles went to Rishikesh in northern India to study meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Although the Beatles did not continue their relationship with the Maharishi, Harrison became involved in the Hare Krishna tradition until his death in 2001.
After the break-up of the Beatles in 1970, Lennon continued to reject religion. His 1971 single "Imagine" is regarded as an "atheist anthem". In 2010, Starr said he had recently returned to monotheism, while McCartney, in 2012, said he has a "personal faith in something good, but it doesn't really go much further than that".
Background
McCartney and Harrison were both baptised as Roman Catholics during childhood, although McCartney was raised non-denominationally; his mother was Roman Catholic and his father was a Protestant turned agnostic. Harrison was raised Roman Catholic.
Lennon attended St Peter's Anglican church in Woolton, South Liverpool, where he was a member of the youth group and sang occasionally in the choir.
Starr attended an Evangelical Anglican church during his childhood.
The Beatles years
According to the band's press officer, Derek Taylor, all four Beatles had abandoned their religious upbringings by 1964. In an interview for The Saturday Evening Post, in August of that year, he stated that the Beatles were "completely anti-Christ. I mean, I am anti-Christ as well, but they're so anti-Christ they shock me which isn't an easy thing."
In February 1965, the band gave an interview to Playboy magazine, in which they defended themselves against claims that they were anti-religious, while at the same time emphatically declaring themselves to be agnostic.
It was also in February 1965 that filming for Help! began, on location in the Bahamas. During filming, a Hindu devotee presented each Beatle with a book about reincarnation. The incident is widely regarded as having instigated the band's interest in Indian culture.
In August 1966, on the eve of The Beatles' 1966 US tour, American teen magazine Datebook published Lennon's remark that the Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus". Lennon had, in fact, originally made the remark to the British newspaper London Evening Standard and when it was first published in the United Kingdom, in March 1966, his words had provoked no public reaction. After Datebook quoted his comments five months later, however, vociferous protests broke out in the United States. The Beatles' records were publicly burned, threats were made and some radio stations refused to play their music. The protest also spread to other countries including Mexico, South Africa and Spain.
Two press conferences were held in the US, where both Brian Epstein and Lennon expressed their regret that Lennon's words had been taken out of context and offence taken. At one of the conferences, Lennon described his own belief in God by quoting the Bishop of Woolwich, saying, "... not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us." The US tour went ahead as planned, although there was some disruption and picketing of their concerts.