Actor Kelsey Grammer says he will not deny his Christian faith no matter how much pressure he faces for holding it, in a new interview with The Christian Post.
The Emmy-winning Frasier star reflected on how faith has shaped America over its 250-year history and said he’s prepared to accept hostility over his beliefs.
“Jesus said, ‘You know, you will suffer so for my sake.’ Okay, bring it on,” Grammer said. “It’s all right. There’s bigger things out there than whether or not our neighbor thinks we’re the best guy in town.”
He added that he doesn’t preach at people or lean on religious language in everyday conversation, but draws a line when his belief itself is challenged.
“I don’t go around proselytizing. I don’t spend a lot of time in the sort of fundamentalist lingo of … ‘God bless you,’ ‘Jesus this, Jesus that.’ I don’t tend to traffic in those worlds or travel in those circles that much. But if somebody asks me to deny that I believe in Christ, I’m not going to do it.”
Grammer also said he believes the country is in the midst of a spiritual awakening.
“I think we are in [an awakening]. I think I can go biblical just a little bit here. The enemy is always at work, but so is God. So is our team, so to speak. I like to think I’m part of that team. The good news is, it’s not going away. We’re not giving up the fight.”
Grammer, who lives much of his public life tied to Southern California, pointed out a detail he said many Californians overlook.
“Most people don’t know this in California, but the patron saint of California is Mary, the Virgin Mary. There’s definitely an energy that is devoted to tearing down Mary in our culture, and we’re not going to let it happen.”
He acknowledged that believers, including himself, don’t live up to their own ideals all the time.
“We’re always going to fall short, right? Because we’re not perfect. That’s okay. We’re going to get concerned about money; we’re going to get concerned about advancement. We’re going to get concerned about perception, how we’re viewed. We’re going to get concerned about what people call us.”
