{"id":53210,"date":"2026-11-05T09:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T14:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=53210"},"modified":"2026-11-05T09:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T14:56:10","slug":"wnba-star-sophie-cunningham-says-christian-revival-is-happening-i-love-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/11\/wnba-star-sophie-cunningham-says-christian-revival-is-happening-i-love-jesus.html","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Star Sophie Cunningham Says Christian Revival is Happening: &#8216;I Love Jesus&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_53213\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-53213\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/11\/Sophie-Cunningham_credit-Theo-Von-YouTube.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-53213\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/11\/Sophie-Cunningham_credit-Theo-Von-YouTube.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-53213\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Theo Von \/ YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>WNBA star Sophie Cunningham believes something powerful is happening in America as more athletes and public figures openly embrace their Christian faith.<\/p>\n<p>During <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=48BawIwaqc0\">an appearance<\/a> on comedian Theo Von&#8217;s popular podcast, &#8220;This Past Weekend,&#8221; the 30-year-old Indiana Fever player opened up about her relationship with Jesus, the importance of faith in her professional basketball career and why she believes a Christian revival may be underway.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I feel like there&#8217;s a revival happening,&#8221; Cunningham told Von, pointing to the growing number of celebrities and athletes speaking publicly about their beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>The basketball star, who was raised Catholic, explained that her faith has evolved over the years. She now identifies as a nondenominational Christian.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was raised Catholic, but now I&#8217;m just like more Christian,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I love Jesus.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Although her demanding basketball schedule makes it difficult to attend a regular church, Cunningham said her relationship with God remains an important part of her everyday life.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I rely a lot on my faith because of what I do for a living,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;[It] keeps me stable and it keeps me to be who I am.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As a professional athlete, Cunningham knows what it&#8217;s like to face public criticism. While she receives plenty of praise from fans, she also deals with negativity and backlash.<\/p>\n<p>But she said her Christian faith helps her remember whose approval matters most.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t care what people&#8217;s opinions are about me because I&#8217;m not living for their praise,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham also expressed excitement about seeing more people with large audiences boldly share their Christian beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s cool to see them be able to be bold and courageous and come out about Jesus,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>When Von questioned whether the growing emphasis on Christianity among professional athletes was genuine, Cunningham acknowledged that not every athlete shares her beliefs. However, she said many people in her inner circle are deeply rooted in faith.<\/p>\n<p>Her comments come months after Cunningham publicly celebrated another major milestone in her spiritual journey.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, the WNBA star shared a video of herself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/04\/sophie-cunningham-celebrates-new-wnba-season-with-baptism-declares-thank-you-jesus.html\">being baptized<\/a> at Christ&#8217;s Church of the Valley in Phoenix, Arizona.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I got baptized when I was little, but I was feeling a tug on my heart to do it on my terms as an adult!&#8221; she wrote at the time.<\/p>\n<p>She later described the experience as &#8220;one of the better things&#8221; she had done in her life.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve always been a faithful person, but I just feel like now it&#8217;s my own decision,&#8221; Cunningham explained.<\/p>\n<p>The podcast conversation also took a personal turn when Von opened up about his own relationship with God.<\/p>\n<p>The comedian, who has previously spoken publicly about seeking a deeper connection with the Lord, admitted that life&#8217;s distractions sometimes interfere with his prayer life.<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham responded with an encouraging reminder about God&#8217;s unconditional love.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s nothing that you can or can&#8217;t do that&#8217;s going to separate you from God&#8217;s love and grace and forgiveness,&#8221; she told Von and his listeners.<\/p>\n<p>For Cunningham, sharing her faith isn&#8217;t about winning public approval. It&#8217;s about staying grounded in what she believes matters most, both on and off the basketball court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WNBA star Sophie Cunningham believes something powerful is happening in America as more athletes and public figures openly embrace their Christian faith. During an appearance on comedian Theo Von&#8217;s popular podcast, &#8220;This Past Weekend,&#8221; the 30-year-old Indiana Fever player opened up about her relationship with Jesus, the importance of faith in her professional basketball career&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":53213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>WNBA Star Sophie Cunningham Says Christian Revival is Happening: &#039;I Love Jesus&#039;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Indiana Fever player opens up to Theo Von about her baptism, relying on Jesus and why her faith matters more 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