The gospel according to Lady Gaga: theology as art

The inventive and highly original pop star has taken theological concepts and conversations out of churches and seminaries and propelled them onto the stage

- By Stephen Roberts

Lady Gaga is leading the nominations for this year's MTV Video Music Awards - merely her latest accolade.

Since she burst onto the scene with The Fame album in 2008, Lady Gaga has become one of the world's most recognisable pop stars. Her hit Born This Way even topped Billboard's list of the 100 greatest LGBTQIA+ anthems of all time. The track defines her commitment to celebrating diversity in all its forms.

While she is known for filling dance floors and dominating pop culture, she has also sparked serious academic interest. Scholars have explored her influence on music, fashion, gender and sexuality. Yet her use of religious imagery remains relatively under-examined. As a theologian, I have studied her music and its rich religious symbolism.

Lady Gaga's most overtly political and theological album was Born This Way, released in 2011. It also inspired the Born This Way Foundation, which she founded with her mother to "empower and inspire young people to build a kinder, braver world that supports their mental health".

I argue that Lady Gaga's work makes her a kind of "musical public theologian". In other words, she is an artist who brings theological arguments into public debate, particularly about LGBTQIA+ inclusion, which is often in tension with religious communities.