Jennifer Knapp on Kindness, Empathy, and Humility

Why I Stay

Jennifer Knapp is a singer/songwriter, activist, author, and speaker.

Learn more Jennifer on her website.

Most people say Jennifer grew up in a non-religious home, but she disagrees. While she didn't consider herself an Evangelical until she was in college, she had a lot of exposure to religion, both its good and bad. It wasn't long after Jennifer found faith that fame found her.

Her first album, "Kansas," was a huge success and put her on a path of constant touring, writing, and promoting. Jennifer kept it all together until 2004 when she went on sabbatical to Australia to take some earned rest.

She never really considered her sexuality and how it interacted with her faith until her mom outed her to herself in her late twenties. Jen didn't have a lot of the baggage about LGBTQ+ issues many other Christians did, but it still led to a lot of wrestling and learning.

Eventually, Jennifer made her relationship with another woman public, and she was faced with the backlash she expected. But that didn't push her away from faith. She dug in, spoke out about compassion, graduated from divinity school, and kept playing music and speaking up for LGBTQ+ communities.

If you play music, you can Jam with Jen on her website.

If you're enjoying this series, consider rating and reviewing Why I Stay on your podcast app of choice.

Also, consider checking out the other podcast offerings from Patheos here.

You can subscribe to the Patheos YouTube channel by clicking here or Like and Follow us on Facebook.

Curious about religion? Learn more at https://www.patheos.com/