The main focus of my project is Parton\u2019s own spirituality, starting with her Appalachian upbringing. But it also examines her fandoms, including some people who elevate the singer to an almost sacred status. This was the case before her death \u2013 and even more so now.<\/p>\n
As a scholar<\/a> of American religions<\/a>, I teach my students about practices, texts and beliefs that many of them immediately consider \u201creligious\u201d \u2013 for example, a worship service led by a pastor. However, religion is also found far beyond these official times and spaces<\/a>, including in popular culture. According to scholar America Wolff<\/a>, fandoms resemble religious groups<\/a> in the way they focus on a single popular figure who inspires systems of belief, ritual and law.<\/p>\n Singer\u2019s journey<\/p>\n Looking at Parton\u2019s life reveals how a celebrity can incorporate religion into their public persona, without ostracizing admirers from other traditions. She discussed religion in interviews throughout her career, as well as in her 1994 memoir<\/a>, where she recounted her maternal grandfather, a fundamentalist pastor, preaching hellfire and brimstone.<\/p>\n In 1971, for example, she told journalist Gene Guerrero how religion inspired some of her songs<\/a>: \u201cMy mama used to read us all the Bible stories. I know the Bible pretty well, and I especially loved the stories.\u201d That same year, she released \u201cThe Golden Streets of Glory<\/a>,\u201d the first of her several gospel albums.<\/p>\n \u2018The Golden Streets of Glory\u2019 was the title track of Parton\u2019s first gospel album.<\/p>\n Six years later, talking with Rolling Stone interviewer Chet Flippo<\/a>, Parton claimed that she wasn\u2019t a Christian. But \u201cI do believe, I know there is a God and He is still the best friend I got in the world,\u201d she explained. \u201cI talk to Him often, but I\u2019m one of the world\u2019s sinners.\u201d <\/p>\n Later in her life, though, Parton embraced the label \u201cChristian\u201d \u2013 albeit in a way that was very much her own. In the memoir<\/a> \u201cMy Life and Other Unfinished Business,\u201d she explained that \u201cChristianity and its symbols are powerful parts of my life.\u201d However, she diverged from socially conservative elements of her grandfather\u2019s faith by embracing makeup and flashy fashion, celebrating her own sexuality, and speaking up for LGBTQ+ rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n She was never interested in proselytizing. People do not have to embrace Christianity \u201cto be a decent and worthwhile human being,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSpirituality is the most intimate part of a person\u2019s makeup, and it\u2019s strictly up to the individual to choose how to express it.\u201d <\/p>\n \u2018Gospel of Dolly\u2019<\/p>\n This openness explains part of Parton\u2019s widespread appeal. The popular podcast \u201cDolly Parton\u2019s America<\/a>,\u201d produced by journalists Jad Abumrad<\/a> and Shima Oliaee<\/a>, was based on the premise that Parton is one of the few public figures to have fans across the political spectrum. <\/p>\n After her death, President Donald Trump posted a tribute on his social media site, TruthSocial, and ordered that flags be flown at half-staff<\/a> for a week. At the same time, in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco \u2013 a haven for the queer community \u2013 a Pride flag was also flying at half-staff in her honor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mourners include Jesuit priest and author James J. Martin, who thanked Parton for \u201cteaching me about the Christian life<\/a>,\u201d and numerous Christian musicians<\/a> who looked up to her. \u201cShe was the epitome of faith, grace, talent, beauty and humour,\u201d country artist Carrie Underwood wrote<\/a>. \u201cShe had a humble heart for Jesus and made everyone around her feel special.\u201d<\/p>\n Dolly Parton performs in concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on July 31, 2015. But even non-Christians discussed Parton in sacred terms: a \u201csecular American saint<\/a>,\u201d as Vox writer Constance Grady designated her in 2021.<\/p>\n Beyond her music, these fans admired her philanthropy, from the Imagination Library program that distributes books to children around the world<\/a> to her US$1 million donation that helped fund COVID-19 vaccine research<\/a>. They also highlighted her support for the Black Lives Matter movement<\/a> and LGBTQ+ rights<\/a>. \u201cDolly Parton is beloved because she has devoted her career to standing for love,\u201d Grady wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n Even before her death, though, some people idolized her in a saint-like way. In 2011, for example, photographer Alice Hawkins<\/a> produced a project titled \u201cDolly Parton is my religon<\/a>.\u201d Rev. Lindy Vogado, a Presbyterian pastor,likened her to a prophet<\/a>. \u201cDolly Parton, through her life and work, inspires us to be better versions of ourselves,\u201d Vogado wrote in 2025. \u201cJust like any good prophet would do.\u201d <\/p>\n In recent years, churches in Illinois<\/a>, Oklahoma<\/a> and New York<\/a> have held services based on \u201cthe gospel of Dolly.\u201d I attended the service in New York, which interspersed Parton\u2019s songs with readings from scripture and homilies. Like the other services, the one I attended emphasized Parton\u2019s \u201cteachings\u201d: love, care and acceptance. <\/p>\n A Pride celebration inspired by Dolly Parton at Broadway United Church of Christ in New York.<\/p>\n Angels and atheists<\/p>\n Since her death, the religious language has only intensified. Musician Roseanne Cash referred to the singer as a \u201cgoddess<\/a>\u201d on Instagram, and cartoonist Marshall Ramsey<\/a> portrayed her as an angel<\/a>. \u201cListen, I\u2019m fairly well atheist and have been for decades,\u201d Threads user @cartergoesplaces proclaimed<\/a>, \u201cbut Dolly Parton is in heaven with Jesus now. That\u2019s simply a fact, and I\u2019ll hear no arguments, no matter how vast the cosmos\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Parton had her own personal brand of Christian religiosity, but she encouraged others to find and follow their own paths. I believe this helps to explain the huge outpouring of admiration \u2013 from followers of many religious traditions, followers of none, and followers of Dolly herself.<\/p>\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20260827-60-7xbiye.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n Wade Payne\/Invision\/AP<\/a><\/p>\n