Justin Bieber’s ‘Hallelujah’ World Cup Show Comes as More Young Men Turn to Religion

The faith-oriented song expresses gratitude and praise for the blessings in life.

Singer Justin Bieber performs at halftime during the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, on July 19, 2026. Abbie Parr/AP Photo

News Analysis

Justin Bieber could have used the halftime show at the World Cup to revisit one of the pop songs that made him famous. Instead, the Canadian singer used his time to perform an acoustic rendition of one of his lesser-known recent tracks, “Everything Hallelujah.”

The faith-oriented song expresses gratitude and praise for the blessings in life, and was a sharp contrast to the upbeat, party songs of Madonna, BTS, and Shakira that bookended it.

The religious undertones of Bieber’s performance reflect a more public turn in the Ontario-born singer’s faith, which has long been an enduring part of his story. It’s also part of a broader trend: a resurgence of religiosity among young men.

Bieber’s Early Faith and Rise to Fame

Bieber was raised mainly by his mother Pattie Mallette, who had become a born-again Christian at 17, the year before she had Bieber.

Mallette’s own conversion followed a childhood of abuse, depression, and substance abuse problems, and emerged out of meetings she had with a youth-centre worker who spoke to her about God’s love after she was hospitalized for a suicide attempt.

Bieber was raised within Mallette’s nondenominational charismatic Christian community and he went on to choose to be baptized at around 8 years old, according to Mallette.

Bieber later recounted that his mother would often play sermons by Seattle-based evangelical pastor Judah Smith, who’s known to emphasize a personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ through his Churchome megachurch network.

After being discovered on YouTube and signing a record deal, Bieber rocketed to international fame at age 15 with his debut EP, “My World,” and went on to become a global superstar with the 2010 hit single “Baby.”

In a 2010 interview, the singer described himself as Christian and said he read the Bible and prayed daily, along with being taught by a Christian tutor.

“I pray all the time. I pray two to three times a day. When I wake up I thank Him for my blessings. I thank Him for putting me in this position. And at the end of the day I get out my Bible,” Bieber said. “It’s something that keeps me grounded.”

Justin Bieber performs a medley of songs at the 2016 Billboard Awards in Las Vegas on May 22, 2016. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Personal Problems and Comeback

By his late teens, however, Bieber was making headlines for alleged drug use, destructive behaviour, and pranks, with the star opening up that he was struggling with depression and personal problems.

As Bieber began seeking wellness, the intervention of pastor Carl Lentz of the international evangelical Christian megachurch Hillsong played a significant role. Lentz said Bieber stayed with him and his family in New Jersey for several weeks and also got rebaptized in 2014 as a public commitment to his faith.

“This boy is 21. He’s in a horribly toxic world,” Lentz told GQ magazine in 2015. “He is trying to do his best to figure this out. He has never been anybody but who he has professed to be, which is a work in progress.”

Bieber would later clarify in 2021 that he considered Churchome his church, not Hillsong, and pushed back on rumours he planned to become a pastor at Hillsong, saying this was untrue.

“Church is not a place. We are the church,” Bieber posted on social media in early 2021. “We don’t need a building to connect with god. God is with us wherever we are.”

Bieber’s disavowal of belonging to Hillsong came in the wake of Lentz being fired from the church in 2020. Lentz said he was dismissed for cheating on his wife Lauren Lentz.

Justin Bieber arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, 2010. AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Bieber’s Beliefs

Bieber’s religious beliefs are most accurately described as a contemporary form of nondenominational evangelicalism.

The singer has clarified that he doesn’t consider himself conventionally religious, but instead a personal believer in Christ.

“I believe in the story of Jesus—that’s the simplicity of what I believe,” Bieber told Vogue in 2019.

Bieber’s past on-again-off-again relationship with fellow singer Selena Gomez from 2010 to 2018 also had faith aspects, with them attending Bible studies led by Smith during one of their reconciliations in 2014.

Gomez would also later go on to get involved with Hillsong and attended it regularly with Bieber in Los Angeles when they got back together in 2017, although by 2020 Gomez had distanced herself after Lentz was fired.

Bieber has been married to Hailey Bieber since September 2018, and first met her in 2009 through their parents. Hailey, whose father Stephen is the younger brother of actor Alec Baldwin, reconnected with Bieber in June 2018 at a religious event hosted by pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr.

Hailey has said she prayed over marrying Justin, and Bieber has said she is a stabilizing influence who has helped him create the kind of family life he always yearned for growing up.

Hailey has also said that their shared Christian faith has been a central foundation of their marriage. The couple welcomed their first child Jack Blues Bieber in 2024.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber arrive at the 68th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2026. The Canadian Press/AP-Invision, Jordan Strauss

Religious Comeback Among Young Men

Bieber’s embrace of Christian beliefs comes amid a resurgence of religious conviction among young men in America.

Recent polling from Gallup found that 42 percent of American men aged 18 to 29 surveyed during 2024 and 2025 said religion was very important in their lives, up from 28 percent in Gallup’s 2022–2023 polling.

About 40 percent of the cohort of 18- to 29-year-old men also said they go to religious services at least once a month, representing the highest level among this age group in more than a decade.

Several other surveys also suggest rising religiosity among younger adults, including a 2025 study from the American Bible Society, which found that reading of the Bible by Millennials had gone up from roughly 30 percent in 2024 to 39 percent in 2025.