{"id":15922,"date":"2022-10-04T16:12:44","date_gmt":"2022-10-04T20:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=15922"},"modified":"2022-10-04T16:12:44","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T20:12:44","slug":"shania-twain-states-conversation-with-oprah-winfrey-went-sour-over-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2022\/10\/shania-twain-states-conversation-with-oprah-winfrey-went-sour-over-religion","title":{"rendered":"Shania Twain States Conversation with Oprah Winfrey Went \u201cSour\u201d Over Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lev Radin \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shania Twain spoke with Jessie and Lennie Ware on their podcast, \u201cTable Manners\u201d to promote her new single, \u201cWaking up Dreaming.\u201d It is the first single the singer has released in five years, with her first album since 2017 currently in the works as well. While speaking with the hosts, the topic of most interesting dinner came up. Twain recalled a dinner with Oprah Winfrey that appeared to have occurred some time in the 90s.<\/p>\n

She recalled the dinner fondly, calling Winfrey \u201csuch a smart lady.\u201d \u201cBut as soon as we started talking about religion, it all went sour,\u201d she added. \u201cSo I said, let\u2019s stop talking about religion.\u201d Twain did not get into specifics of the disagreement but described Winfrey as \u201cquite religious,\u201d while she described herself as more a \u201cseeker.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not religious in the sense that I’m dedicated to a religion. I\u2019m much more of a spiritual person,\u201d said Twain, who has been linked<\/a> as adhering to the Sant Mat school of Eastern Spirituality. \u00a0\u201cThere was no room for debate,\u201d she added, \u201cand I like to debate. Canadians like to debate everything. So, I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh, OK. It\u2019s time to change the subject.’\u201d She summed up the experience, saying, \u201cYou know how everyone always says, \u2018Never talk about politics or religion.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Winfrey\u2019s faith has been a subject of controversy throughout the years, with some labeling the media mogul a \u201cfalse prophet,\u201d while others look at her as a spiritual guide. In an interview with AARP Bulletin<\/em>, Winfrey described her faith saying, \u201cI grew up in the Baptist Church, and going to church with my father; I remember being 8 years old, trying to determine whether I was really ready to give up sin, and for days I agonized. But I was probably toward 81\/2 when I actually joined the church and was baptized \u2014 and, my God, did I take it seriously! I was a zealot who irritated every one of my third-grade friends. They didn\u2019t beat me up, but I got labeled \u2018the preacher girl.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Winfrey has faced criticism for pushing what others call the \u201cprosperity gospel.\u201d Thomas Kidd, in reviewing Kathryn Lofton\u2019s book, Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon<\/em>, described Winfrey\u2019s faith as, \u201cOprah is a religion because in America, consumption\u2014of clothes, food, and books\u2014is a religion. The right experiences and products, we believe, will fill the void inside. The core of Oprah\u2019s message is the \u2018spiritual injunction to consume,\u2019 and in consuming, to become like Oprah.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Ann Kreitzer<\/a> wrote of the star\u2019s faith in a blog post that, \u201cOne of the most effective proselytizers drawing Christians away from the faith today is not a minister, mullah or rabbi. She is entertainer and New-Age guru Oprah Winfrey. Oprah calls herself a Christian, but she evangelizes for the New Age.\u201d In her interview with AARP Bulletin, <\/em>Winfrey even said, \u201cI hear people say all the time, \u2018I\u2019m not really religious, but I consider myself spiritual.\u2019 I definitely have always been spiritual, being raised by my grandmother on that little acre in Mississippi, indoctrinated, born into the church and the ways of the church.\u201d She also described herself as not a \u201ctraditionalist\u201d as she doesn\u2019t attend church every Sunday. In addressing whether New Age spirituality was compatible with Christianity, she seemed to affirm it, saying, \u201cBut for me to live in a world that is not inclusive of other people who are not Christian would be the opposite of Christianity. I can\u2019t define \u2018God,\u2019 so to be open to the mystical and mystery of God is a natural part of myself. So people criticize me for not being what they are, and I say, it\u2019s working for me and has worked for me and continues to work for me, in a way that fills me with a sense of peace and contentment about what God means to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shania Twain spoke with Jessie and Lennie Ware on their podcast, \u201cTable Manners\u201d to promote her new single, \u201cWaking up Dreaming.\u201d It is the first single the singer has released in five years, with her first album since 2017 currently in the works as well. While speaking with the hosts, the topic of most interesting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":15925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nShania Twain States Conversation with Oprah Winfrey Went \u201cSour\u201d Over Religion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shania Twain appeared on the "Table Manners" podcast where she recounts her "sour" conversation with Oprah Winfrey about religion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2022\/10\/shania-twain-states-conversation-with-oprah-winfrey-went-sour-over-religion\" 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