Unpacking Paramore's Affiliation With Christianity Over the Years

There's simply no other way to put it: It's Paramore season. The hit group is back, and their latest album "This Is Why" is a poignant, almost political comment on the current social climate of the world, but sonically it harkens back to all of the elements of their earlier work that fans grew to love over the years.

Longtime fans of Paramore are well aware that the group has come a long way from its humble beginnings in Tennessee. Looking back at the yesteryears of Paramore, some fans are wondering: Are they a Christian band? Well, let's take a look at what "The News" creators have said about their affiliations with organized religion.

Although Paramore's public image appears anything but religious, the band's members were all brought up Christian, attended church, and have worked some Christian ideologies into their music.

This has been expressed in various instances over the years. Former member Josh Farro told Common Revolt, per NME, "Paramore claimed to be a Christian band, and then wrote those lyrics. It contradicts your faith," speaking about their song "Careful," which contains secular lyrics.

Back in 2017, Hayley Williams told Beats1 that she believes faith is the only thing in life that's "bulletproof."

A few years later, during an interview with The Guardian in 2022, Hayley touched on Paramore's affiliation with Christianity and said that the band members "are all at different stages of unraveling their relationship to faith."

There are other, more subtle ways that Christianity has seemingly influenced the band members over time. For example, Hayley has a rather large cross tattooed on her thigh.

On top of that, on physical album inserts for the band's first four records, they thank God in their acknowledgements. Other instances of this include in live performances where Hayley sings phrases like "his glory" and "oh father, oh father, oh father, my Jesus."

All in all, Paramore is not a Christian band by the traditional definition of Christian music. They have made references to Christianity throughout the years and have individually discussed aspects of their relationships with the faith, but Paramore's core directive has never been pushing a Christian agenda.