The Spiritual Teachings of Prince

There are countless spiritual paths and prophets that teach us how to incorporate philosophies and practices to live healthy lives. The late musician Prince and his body of work are talismans for spiritual practitioners seeking a way to live their best lives in times of religious dualism, political divisiveness, exploitation, sexual shame, and apocalyptic climate catastrophe.

Prince’s Spiritual History

Prince (1958-2016), the multi-award-winning Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician who composed and performed many hits and won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score for the title track to Purple Rain, was deeply concerned with how he might help his fans escape death and eternal suffering as described in the Bible’s Book of Revelation. But why this preoccupation from an artist mostly known as an advocate for kinky sexual freedom?

Prince, who was raised in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, once had a positive encounter with The Kama Sutra, a holy text in the Hindu tradition that outlines the ways one can be pleased and offer pleasure as a spiritual experience. Can you imagine the psycho-spiritual work Prince had to do to integrate these beliefs with those of his Christian upbringing? It seems that Prince’s spiritual conclusion was that, if God (as taught in Protestantism) is wholly good and only creates good things, including human beings … and human beings create other human beings through sex and by having sexual urges … then sex and sexual urges must also be good. Even outside of marriage; even if it is not for procreation. As a pastoral counselor, I can say that coming to this conclusion is no easy philosophical, spiritual, or psychological feat, and it is something that Prince worked on for decades through his art.

Prince as a Community Activist

Sexual well-being was not the only health matter Prince addressed through spirituality. Early in his recording career, Prince was concerned about the ways racism, gender differences, and right-wing cultural norms were poised to keep us apart from one another. He seemed to believe that the forces keeping us apart from one another, especially based on superficial differences, were not in keeping with Christianity and contributed to unhealthy fractures in community, leading to the pain of loneliness. His group Prince and The Revolution and the philosophy behind his creative sanctuary and recording studio Paisley Park, which shares the name of Prince’s 1985 single, are testaments to his belief that community matters for our well-being. It is his emphasis on community that led me to return to his famous quote: “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here to get through this thing called life …”

I believe the type of gathering Prince called us to—one that encourages us to support one another as we go through life—is an existential spiritual practice that, when done well, nourishes relational health, because we know and feel that we belong.

It is impossible to experience relational health when one is either being exploited or engaged in the dispiriting exploitation of others. Prince was not just revered because he was a brilliant artist and multi-instrumentalist, one who used religious archetypes in his image, lyrics, and films. He also fought producers for the rights to the music he created and performed and publicly resisted what he believed to be exploitation by his record label: He changed his trade name to the unpronounceable “Love Symbol,” drew the word “slave” on his cheek, and named his 1996 album Emancipation. Prince became a liberation fighter for artists to have more control over and more profits from their art. No one can argue against the idea that being a liberator and becoming liberated is healthier than being exploited and enslaved. Prince, through his music, seemed to believe that God gave humans free will, and that that free will could only be fully expressed when one is free.

Prince’s Work as a Gospel Offering

Prince’s body of work, taken as a whole, lays down the tracks to perdition and redemption. His brilliance was in his ability to be beguiling while attempting to religiously convert his fans in order to protect them from apocalyptic Armageddon—especially after he became a Jehovah’s Witness. In this quest, Prince tried to ease suffering caused by existential angst while also keeping with Seventh-day Adventist practices of vegetarianism and Jehovah’s Witnesses’ guidance to refrain from consuming foods containing blood. Prince’s spirituality, and dietary choices, led to his physical fitness.

It has been four decades since Prince’s Purple Rain rocked the world, but his music continues to stand the test of time. As we revisit his music, my hope is that people will see Prince’s body of work for what I believe it is: a Christian gospel offering. Christian or not, let’s adopt Prince as a talisman—he helps us understand what it really sounds like when the doves of love cry out in lament for mercy, and that, when we go through heartbreak, it is love and compassionate action that can meaningfully manifest for those we are gathered with.

Curious to hear more about Prince's spiritual legacy? Pre-order Dearly Beloved here.