Russell Brand says he's been baptised in the Thames. But why will no church ... trends now
Surely not since hardened Pharisee St Paul had his vision on the road to Damascus has there been quite such an unlikely convert to the Christian faith.
Russell Brand announced this week that he has become a Christian, and was baptised last weekend. The Apostle Paul was baptised in Damascus whereupon the 'scales fell from his eyes' and his blindness was cured. The disgraced comedian's experience was apparently rather more prosaic: he says he was fully immersed in the notoriously dirty River Thames.
The Mail has learnt that the embattled Brand's spiritual rebirth — if that is what it is — has been mirrored by an upturn in his earthly fortunes. Thames Valley Police has closed its investigation into allegations by a woman that he stalked and harassed her between 2018 and 2022.
A Thames Valley spokesman said: 'We have conducted a thorough investigation. There are now no new lines of inquiry, unless any new information comes to light.' Brand remains the subject of a parallel inquiry by the Metropolitan Police over various allegations of sexual offences.
He has been accused by four women of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse alleged to have been committed during a seven-year period from 2006 to 2013 when he was at the height of his fame and working for the BBC and Channel 4 as well as acting in Hollywood films.
Russell Brand announced this week that he has become a Christian, and was baptised last weekend. He says he was fully immersed in the notoriously dirty River Thames
All Saints, an Anglican church near Brand's home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, seemed a likely candidate to have baptised him - yet the Church has denied doing it
Brand has strenuously denied the allegations, insisting his relationships were 'always consensual'.
His interest in Christianity, nevertheless, appears to have increased markedly since he was embroiled in the accusations in 2023. Brand said he got baptised as he saw it as 'an opportunity to leave the past behind' and 'leave behind the sins'.
Reaction to news of his baptism has been mixed. Some Christians have welcomed him into the faith, citing Luke's Gospel on God's greater joy over a single sinner who repents than over 99 people who remain righteous.
Others are sceptical, some suspecting a publicity stunt to burnish his reputation and others doubtful about a man who promotes many New Age ideas and philosophies, and who appears to have a pick 'n' mix attitude to religion.
He previously said he was a Buddhist, and hours after his baptism he posted online a video in which he discussed predicting the future with tarot cards.
Brand claimed 'a lot of Christians would say tarot and even yoga is a kind of heresy', but — indulging his pretentious and not always convincing passion for long words — asked whether people could follow 'hybrid modalities' in their beliefs.
Brand has had a crucifix tattooed on his right arm dating back to at least 2019 which suggests his interest in Christianity isn't entirely fabricated.
He told his four million Instagram followers that his baptism was an 'incredible and profound experience'.
He said: 'This is my path now. And I already feel incredibly blessed, relieved, nourished, held.'
However, Brand, whose wife Laura (daughter of golfer Bernard Gallacher) is Catholic, was strangely vague about into which church he has been received.
And one would have thought any cleric baptising as notorious a delinquent as Brand — who has spoken openly about his previous womanising and drug use — wouldn't hesitate to say so. But investigations by the Mail around Brand's home
