Singer Dante Bowe shares how ‘scary’ religious folks temporarily drove him away from Christian faith
By Candace Hodges // Christianity // EEW Magazine Online
Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum-selling, and chart-topping musician Dante Bowe says scrutiny from religious people, for a season, drove him away from his Christian faith. But now he’s back and walking in newfound liberty.
“Religion is a scary thing,” said the 30-year-old in a recent chat with talk show host Tamron Hall. “When people are religious and they judge you for the smallest things, you live your life under fear. So, I was definitely scared of Christians, and at one point I loved being one, and then started rejecting it.”
Though Bowe is no longer in a back-slidden state, he told Hall, 53, he has had to “unlearn” old things and “learn a lot of new things” about God’s love, compassion and acceptance.
The Dove Award-winning former Maverick City worship singer, who is now pursuing an R&B music career, said, “I feel like I’m walking in freedom now.”
Speaking of freedom, Bowe’s followers claim that the vocalist got a little too free when he uploaded on a nude photo on social media. However, according to Bowe, it was an accidental post.
“It wasn’t a salacious photo at all. It was my progress when I was losing weight. I was trying my best to get in shape, so it wasn’t a sexual photo if you know what I mean,” he explained, calling the incident “devastating.”
“I always want to be an example—not just an example of a believer but an example of a good person. I don’t want anyone—children or anybody—to see that, and a lot of people follow me. And so, we deleted it real fast,” he said.
During his sit-down, Hall and Bowe rehashed another previous controversy around viral footage of Bowe dancing to an explicit song. Hall called such scrutiny “policing of humanness.”
“You sing gospel music, but you’re not a saint,” pointed out the Emmy-winning journalist. “You perform and you have faith, but you’re not perfect.”
Bowe agreed.
Though he readily admits to making some “mistakes” on his rapid ascent to the top of music charts, these days Bowe seems more sure-footed and clearer on his identity as a Christian.
He calls himself “cool” and proudly embraces mainstream aspects of culture and art. “I like fashion, I like R&B, and I love Jesus,” he said, summing himself up in a nutshell.
Interested in more? Watch the interview segment below.
