Cameron Crowe is a Catholic? Color Me Surprised

Written on 8:58 PM by Jack B.

Writer/Director Cameron Crowe, the man responsible for such movies as Say Anything, Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, the weird American version of Vanilla Sky and the new film, Elizabethtown (he also wrote the screenplay for Fast Times at Ridgemont High) turns out to be a Catholic. And not the "raised Catholic" kind (the kind people who are ex-Catholics usually say they are without actually saying it), but an actual practicing Catholic! Who knew they existed in Hollywood beyond Mel Gibson and Jim Cavaziel?

Excerpt from an interview with Beliefnet.com:

Beliefnet: Do you still affiliate with a Catholic church?

Crowe: I do. Our boys are Catholic. That's who I am. And I had a great experience going to Catholic school.

Beliefnet: It seems like most of the stereotypes out there of Catholic schools are not all that flattering.

Crowe: No, but all I know is my own experience. I had great teachers, inspiring teachers, and they entered my life courtesy of Catholic school and that faith. So that's what I know, and that's what I still honor.

Beliefnet: Individual spirituality and the personal quest are all the rage these days. So it's interesting to hear you unabashedly say that you're on the same path as your parents, and passing it along to your kids.

Crowe: Well it worked for me. If I felt like it didn't work for me, I certainly wouldn't be slavish about following them just because it was my parents. But I do believe in tradition when tradition serves, and it has. I like that when times have been tough my belief system and my faith have been there for me, and it's led me in the right direction, so far [laughs].

Beliefnet: These are tough times to be a Catholic, with everything that's going on in the Church. Has that affected you, and how you deal with all that?

Crowe: I have nothing but powerful thoughts about the teachers that I met and learned from growing up. They were amazing brothers and priests and nuns, and I think my sister felt the same way. I have a lot of empathy for their path of positivity in a cynical world. So I have a lot more empathy than some people who from a distance say, "Well there's stuff to be worked out in the Catholic Church." I keep it personal, and I don't forget about the grandness of the beliefs. I care about the experience that's happening now, and I just want to make sure that our little boys have the same sort of spiritually generous experience that we had. So I think that comes from keeping a close relationship with the teachers and letting them know that you support them.

Beliefnet: And how do your boys react to being in Catholic school?

Crowe: They enjoy the worship and religion that we bring into their teaching. They're fans of goodness and they respond to the shows that they see or the stories that we read. You can see already that the myths of good versus evil are so inspiring, even to a young person. They just want to root for good. They want to see that the path might be rocky, but it's worth sticking it out. And it's the same story that I've sort of told in my own movies. And I just love to see that it burns in the heart of most people, that those are the stories that transcend. I just like seeing that honored in their school.

Beliefnet: Do you think that sense is innate?

Crowe: Yes. I do.

Can you believe that? An actual Hollywood bigshot actually praising his Catholic childhood and wanting to bring his children up in the faith? And a celebrity who doesn't sound like an ignorant ass when talking about religion especially the Catholic Church? Amazing. From watching his movies no one could ever tell anything about this.