Miley Cyrus reveals why she gave up on the church

She’s been coping with being cooped up amid the coronavirus outbreak by starting her own online talk show.

Miley Cyrus invited her old friend Hailey Bieber, 23, for episode five of her new quarantine talk show Bright Minded on Saturday.

The conversation took a serious turn when the 27-year-old pop star revealed her struggles with faith and how she left her church over its treatment of gay people.

Miley made it clear that her own developing understanding of her sexuality, coupled with the church communities treatment of her friends who were gay, made her feel the need to leave.

‘I was also brought up in the church in Tennessee at a time in the ’90s, so it was a less accepting time with all that,’ she said.

‘I had some gay friends in school. That is the reason why I left my church is that they weren’t being accepted. They were being sent to conversion therapies. And I had a really hard time with that and I had a hard time with me finding my sexuality too.’

Conversion therapy is a discredited pseudoscientific practice that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual. However, there’s no reliable evidence that the process is effective, and 20 states and additional municipalities have banned the conversion therapy for minors.

‘So, I think you now telling me that I’m allowed to redesign my relationship with God as an adult and make it how it feels most accepting to me would make me feel so less turned off by spirituality,’ Miley added. 

Though Hailey was also raised in the church as a child, it wasn’t until she was an adult that the model found a relationship with religion that suited her needs.

‘I think there’s a difference between being raised in church and then being an adult and having your own relationship with God …. I feel like I’ve found my footing with spirituality and faith and church,’ she said. ‘I’ve found a church community that works for me where I feel supported and loved and accepted.’

Hailey and her husband Justin Bieber are regularly spotted going to Wednesday night services at the Beverly Hills–based Churchome, an evangelical church frequented by a number of young celebrities.

The couple also attend the evangelical church Hillsong when they’re spending time in New York City.

Hailey’s contention that religion could be something personal and shaped by her own values seemed to be revelatory for the Wrecking Ball singer.

‘I was raised going to church as a believer, and that was a really important part of my life. And I kind of fell off that path a little bit because I think I had a hard time finding a relationship with God that worked for me as an adult,’ she explained.

‘I think what I just took away from you is I’m allowed to decide what my relationship is with spirituality as an adult … that doesn’t have to be aligned with the way it was when I was brought up.’

The conversation also featured less weighty subjects, like makeup routines and Hailey’s thoughts on healthy eating and its effect on her skincare routine.

The Party In The U.S.A. singer also embarrassed her guest with a photo she printed out of the two goofing off as teenagers.

Miley also revealed her struggles with anxiety and panic attacks that briefly threatened to derail her touring schedule year’s earlier.

The solution was a book by celebrity Dr. Daniel Amen, who happened to be the guest on her inaugural episode of Bright Minded.

Guests from her first week of shows have included Demi Lovato, Rita Ora and Jeremy Scott.

Meanwhile, Hailey’s been spending plenty of time at home with her singer–songwriter husband, and the two documented their rewatch of the 2008 blockbuster The Dark Knight for their millions of Instagram followers.