The Onion AV Guide Asks Sufjan Stevens About Faith

from The Onion AV guide:

O: Have you been surprised by how much attention has been paid to the fact that you’re a Christian?

SS: Um… Yeah, I think it’s a little disconcerting. It can be a little frustrating. I think that certain terms that we use to describe a culture or religion are in some ways our way of isolating people, and I think sometimes these terms bring up all sorts of prejudices and misunderstandings and misconceptions. And I feel a little frustrated and guilty about being a part of that banter. And in some ways, I feel like this is something that is really important and sacred. Maybe it really shouldn’t be a part of public discussion, because, you know, it really is about personal relationships.

O: Also, you’re Episcopalian, and growing up Episcopalian is not really the same thing as growing up, say, Southern Baptist.

SS: I wasn’t actually raised Episcopalian. I go to a kind of Anglo-Catholic church now that I’ve been going to for the last three years, but I haven’t really been raised that way. I’m definitely entrenched in the tradition now. I kind of admire it for being so traditional and sort of unchanging and unwavering in a lot of its doctrine, but also very sort of open and broad in its understanding of human nature. I like that it’s kind of open to the discussion about the tensions between those two things.

Thanks to opuszine for the link!