Neil Peart and God, Was He One?
Neil Peart: Was He a God & Did He Believe in One?
No. Neil Peart did not believe in God or organized religion and was accused of being a "faith basher."
This is an odd topic, yet I see many people on the web searching for Neil Peart and God. Some common questions include:
- does Neil peart believe in god?
- was Neil Peart blessed by the Gods?
- is Neil Peart a God?
While the last one might be tongue-in-cheek, the first two are more serious in nature.
Neil did not shy away from expressing his thoughts on religion and God in general. As he got older, and wrote more books, his leanings became more clear.
Faith Basher or Freedom Fighter?
It was easy for many people to see this as him bashing religion. He experienced enough pain in life to lose whatever "faith" existed.
This is likely the same reason Geddy Lee's (Weinrib's) parents were not explicitly religious after surviving the war. Many Jewish people who survived found it difficult to believe any such God would allow such atrocities to occur. This idea is echoed in many of his interviews on the topic.
We can say with certainty that Neil Peart did not believe in God.
He lived with a rigid schedule and great humanity, and expressed this in an interview:
[on the topic of meeting God in the end]
"I’m gonna be okay, because I have lived a life based on that and I believe in generosity and charity and kindness and courtesy, those are things that just seem good to me anyway, I don’t need a threat to make me behave that way and I don’t need a reward."
The Bells Toll for Thee
Now, let's take this one squeamish step further. A website online explored whether our hero (or maybe nobody's hero) reached the heavens.
Stated more aptly by Roxane Beuclair Salonen: "Given his dismissiveness of God, did Peart reach the Pearly Gates?"
She ultimately discusses how the band and Neil must have recognized, and thus acknowledged the presence of God as they played the final time and reflected on their 40+ year career.
A more in-depth look at Neil's inner thoughts comes forth in his lyrics. B.C. Catholic provides the following observations.
The Bible, Religion & God in Neil Peart's Lyrics
Yet what did happen was a remarkable body of artwork, as Peart struggled and reflected on the meaning of life. Peart became world-famous for his drumming techniques, but his lyrics also inspired many to reflect on a deeper level along with him.
Fly by Night (1975) was Peart’s first album with Rush. The title track buoyantly celebrates the sense of adventure that should characterize life: “Start a new chapter / Find what I’m after / It’s changing every day.”
But on Caress of Steel (also 1975), with the track “I Think I’m Going Bald,” Peart grapples with mortality: “My life is slipping away / I’m aging every day / But even when I’m grey / I’ll still be grey my way.”
This independent ethos assumed mythical form on 2112 (Rush’s breakthrough hit album of 1976), which depicts a dystopian sci-fi future where a totalitarian priesthood bans guitar music and tries to bring the story’s hero under its total control.
On A Farewell to Kings (1977), the magnificent song “Xanadu” retells the story of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan.” Peart depicts the emptiness that results when one is devoted solely to a life of pleasure: “Waiting for the world to end / Weary of the night / Praying for the light.”
Hemispheres (1978) contains “The Trees,” a memorable parable from Peart about a war between oaks and maples. The terrifying twist ending shows the violent cost of egalitarian revolution: “Now there’s no more oak oppression / For they passed a noble law / And the trees are all kept equal / By hatchet, axe, and saw.”
Although aware of humanity’s evil tendencies, Peart’s humane optimism bursts through in “Jacob’s Ladder,” from Permanent Waves (1980): “Follow men’s eyes / As they look to the skies / The shifting shafts of shining / Weave the fabric of their dreams.”
On the jubilant “Limelight” from Moving Pictures (1981), Peart clings to hope for life lived to the fullest, despite the obstaces presented by social convention: “Those who wish to be / Must put aside the alienation / Get on with the fascination.”
The album Signals (1982) laments those who “sell their dreams for small desires,” in the song “Subdivisions,” which makes the mass-production building zones of suburbia into a metaphor for social conformity: “Subdivisions / In the basement bars / In the backs of cars / Be cool or be cast out.”
Grace Under Pressure (1984) contains the haunting song “Aftermath” about the death of a friend: “Suddenly, you were gone / From all the lives you left your mark upon.”
Was Neil Peart a God?
Some would ague Neil Peart was God among drummers. You can decide this one on your own ;-)
Learn more about Neil's Quebec vacation lake house >
