Religion/ Spirituality

Lenny Kravitz might be a well-known sex symbol ... but that’s kinda fading in light of this news -- namely, him being celibate for a whopping 9 years while on his spiritual journey.

The music icon says he's ditched casual flings for nearly a decade until he finds the right woman -- a move inspired by his dad, NBC news producer Sy Kravitz, cheating on his mom, Roxie Roker, a well-known actress famous for her starring role in "The Jeffersons."

Reflecting on the infidelity, Lenny told The Guardian his dad predicted he’d end up living the same lifestyle, and it turned out to be true. After his marriage to Lisa Bonet fell apart in 1991, Lenny acknowledged he began acting like a player.

Pope Francis' homophobic slur is being dismissed as no big deal, especially considering most seminaries are mostly made up of gay dudes ... so claims one priest anyway.

Father James Alison -- a practicing Catholic and theologian in Madrid, and who's openly gay -- shared his POV on "TMZ Live" Tuesday ... explaining when the Pope speaks to Italian bishops behind closed doors, he's most likely addressing a group primarily composed of gay men -- with FJA theorizing he's likely fully aware of their sexuality 'cause he lives with them.

Therefore, Father James says he likely used the term in a positive/light-hearted context, among people he knows, rather than in a negative way typically associated with the term.

Pope Francis got all homophobic behind closed Vatican doors, referencing "fa**otness" in defending the Church's ban on gays becoming priests.

The Pope mused ..."There is already an air of fa**otness" in seminaries.

The Pope was talking to his bishops last week when he used the slur ... unnamed bishops who were present reportedly said Francis used it "jokingly."

Harrison Butker was back before a podium Friday in his first public appearance since his controversial commencement speech – and he stood firm in his beliefs without giving an inch to his detractors.

Last evening, the K.C. Chiefs kicker gave another sermon onstage for the "Courage Under Fire" gala at Regina Caeli Academy – a traditional Catholic institution – in Nashville, Tennessee.

As a member of the school's board of directors, Butker leaned in heavily on his message from Benedictine College two weeks ago that rubbed many people the wrong way.

After two weeks of outrage, Harrison Butker's controversial commencement speech finally resulted in someone's firing -- it just wasn't the Chiefs' placekicker who lost his job -- but instead, a member of the City of K.C.'s social media team got the axe after doxxing the Super Bowl champ.

On Thursday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas revealed the city "separated" from a K.C. staffer who publicly roasted 28-year-old Butker after his Benedictine College speech, tweeting, "Just a reminder that Harrison Butker lives in the City of Lee's Summit."

The message was deleted shortly after ... and an apology put up in its place -- "We apologies (sic) for our previous tweet. It was shared in error."

Patrick Mahomes is sticking up for Harrison Butker ... praising the kicker as a man of good character following his controversial commencement speech earlier this month.

Butker is at the center of a ton of criticism after speaking at Benedictine College's graduation ceremony ... in which he shared his views that many considered sexist, anti-gay and politically divisive.

The Kansas City superstar addressed the Butker backlash with reporters at Chiefs practice on Wednesday ... and while he said the two might not see eye-to-eye on every issue, he still understands his teammate to be a good guy.

One lucky Elvis Presley fan's gonna need more than a hope and a prayer to get his personal Bible, they'll need a lotta money, too, as it's about to go up on the auction block.

GWS Auctions already has one bid at $30k, and will open up the live auction starting May 25. The Bible has "Elvis Aaron Presley" embossed in gold, and is chock-full of bookmarked pages and underlined passages that hit home for the singer.

The Bible is accompanied by a handwritten letter from Elvis' cousin, Patsy Presley ... and according to the auction house the book was 1 of 3 found by her and Elvis' dad when they were packing up his stuff shortly after he passed.

They say this particular one up for auction was found in Elvis' nightstand.

Diddy's apology video for his brutal 2016 assault of ex-GF Cassie Ventura has blossomed a ton of new opinions and commentary ... from Bad Boy associates and beyond.

Kelly Price -- who recorded with Diddy and the late Notorious B.I.G. several times in the '90s -- didn't cast the disgraced mogul out completely ... offering up prayers of encouragement on social media, while commenting underneath his upload this weekend.

The gospel singer's benevolence while the Cassie video is still on top of people's minds didn't sit well with many though -- and the intense backlash forced Kelly to clarify herself in a 12-minute rebuttal, with her message being ... hate the actions, love the man in a nutshell.

Harrison Butker's critics are on the move, but so are his defenders -- 'cause 2 different petitions are floating around ... one wants him off the Chiefs, another wants him to stay.

A Change.org petition is circulating and going viral -- as it demands his dismissal from the Chiefs over what they believe to be discriminatory remarks ... and at this point, it's got a helluva lot of signatures, nearly hitting its 150,000 goal since it started a few days ago.

The petition, which popped up 2 days after his polarizing commencement speech, really goes after HB ... accusing him of using his platform to spread harm instead of unity, and pushing harmful stereotypes that threaten progress. However, there's an opposite movement in his favor.

Seeing David Archuleta's mother watch the music video for his new song -- one he could not have written without her -- might be more emotional than the song itself.

TMZ got this exclusive clip ... showing the former "American Idol" runner-up sitting with his mom, Lupe Bartholomew, for her first viewing of the vid for, "Hell Together" -- as he tells her she's the inspiration behind the track.

Lupe visibly reacts to the images -- it features a lot of home video footage she helped pick out, scenes of David singing in a church with angelic-looking women dancing.

We're only a few days into a new week ... and there's already so much to discuss!!!

First up, on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles discuss Brian Cox slamming the Bible as the worst book ever ... sounding off on organized religion altogether.

There's been jarring imagery coming out of college campuses embroiled in pro-Palestine protests -- including Jewish students being blocked off, which Brett Gelman finds disgusting.

We got the 'Stranger Things' star at LAX Tuesday, where he weighed in on everything going on at Columbia University and other schools ... namely, demonstrators who are sympathetic to what's happening in Gaza assembling en masse and setting up encampments.

A lot of this unrest has actually made its way out west -- including at UCLA ... where one student this week was filmed apparently being barred by protesters from entering campus.

El profesor de Columbia Jack Halberstam está analizando las crecientes tensiones en el campus, luego de que los manifestantes pro-palestinos ocuparan un edificio en la escuela de la Ivy League.

El profesor de Estudios de Género e Inglés estuvo el martes en "TMZ Live" y defendió la toma de Hamilton Hall el lunes por la noche ya que los manifestantes estudiantiles han ocupado edificios en el pasado -incluyendo Hamilton Hall- para llamar la atención sobre las injusticias relacionadas con el apartheid sudafricano y la guerra de Vietnam, por ejemplo.

El profesor Halberstam también arrojó luz sobre cómo el conflicto entre los manifestantes pro-palestinos y los manifestantes pro-Israel en realidad ha ido en aumento durante meses, con la universidad supuestamente haciendo poco para ayudar a los estudiantes de ambos lados.

Columbia Professor Jack Halberstam is weighing in on the growing tensions on campus ... after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a building at the Ivy League school.

We got the Gender Studies and English prof Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and he defended Monday night's takeover of Hamilton Hall ... as student protesters have occupied buildings in the past -- including Hamilton Hall -- to draw attention to injustices related to South African apartheid and the Vietnam War, for example.

Professor Halberstam also shed light on how the conflict between pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel protesters has actually been growing for months ... with the university allegedly doing little to help students on either side.

Brian Cox se caga en la religión organizada y especialmente en el cristianismo, llamando a la Biblia el peor libro de la historia de la humanidad, porque ha engañado a los tontos por años.

La estrella de "Succession" concedió una entrevista a "The Starting Line Podcast" y hablaron de un montón de cosas, incluyendo pensamientos introspectivos sobre la religión, Dios, la espiritualidad, y todo lo demás. Desde el punto de vista de Brian, todo es un montón de bazofia.

Puedes ver el video completo para ver todo su proceso de pensamiento, y como explica por qué la sociedad necesita moverse más hacia un matriarcado.