USA TODAY International Edition
Imagine Dragons singer examines LGBTQ, Mormons
Dan Reynolds’ fight for the church’s acceptance of the LGBTQ community is outlined in HBO’s “Believer.”
NEW YORK – Years before music stardom came knocking on his door, Dan Reynolds might’ve been knocking on yours.
At 19, the Imagine Dragons frontman was sent to Nebraska as a Mormon missionary, where he went door to door spreading the Gospel and doing service work.
“All my friends were drinking and partying in college, and I was shoveling (expletive) at somebody’s house,” Reynolds says, laughing. “When a Mormon knocks, they say, ‘Can I teach you about Jesus Christ?’ And if you say no, they’ll say, ‘Then how can I be of service to you?’ So anybody who was smart would be like, ‘You can take out my trash and mow my lawn.’ ”
But even then, Reynolds, now 30, had reservations about Mormonism, specifically the church’s stance on relationships, which states that sex is reserved exclusively for a married man and woman. The singer’s fight for Mormon acceptance of the LGBTQ community is the subject of his new documentary, “Believer,” premiering on HBO Monday (8 EDT/PDT).
Through interviews with Reynolds and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, “Believer” explores how Mormon LGBTQ young people often feel shamed into remaining closeted. Some researchers have pointed to the religion’s anti-gay rhetoric as the reason youth suicide rates have nearly tripled in Utah since 2007, according to the State Health Department, as the church made its views explicit in backing California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage.
The film follows Reynolds’ monthslong effort to organize the inaugural Love Loud festival in Orem, Utah, last summer, which raised money for LGBTQ groups such as The Trevor Project. The festival drew artists including Neon Trees’ Tyler Glenn, who’s ex-Mormon and openly gay, and will return for an event in Salt Lake City next month.
Although Reynolds is heterosexual — he recently split from songwriter/activist wife Aja Volkman, with whom he has three daughters — he says he identifies with the LGBTQ community. One of his first friends in middle school was gay, and he lost classmates in high school to suicide. He has long been conflicted about Mormonism’s strict policies after getting kicked out of Brigham Young University during freshman year for having sex with his girlfriend.
“It was a shaming experience that sent me into the first depression I experienced in my life,” Reynolds says. “That, on a very small scale, is what our LGBTQ youth feel every single day, which is that within homes of faith, you have to choose between what you believe and who you love. No one should be forced to choose that.”
Early in his career, before Imagine Dragons scored top-10 hits including “Believer,” “Radioactive” and “Thunder,” Reynolds was reluctant to discuss his upbringing. But after seeing a therapist, he has come to embrace his role as one of music’s few outspoken Mormons and gets emotional talking about the messages he receives from LGBTQ fans.
“If you asked me (about Mormonism) five years ago, I would’ve been very uncomfortable. Now, there’s parts about Mormonism that I love and appreciate. And as far as things that I was embarrassed about, I just don’t feel it anymore. Maybe because I’m speaking my truth about the things that I’m upset with, I just feel secure in myself. If it offends or upsets people, there’s nothing I can really do about that. It’s taken me till 30 to stop caring that much.”
“Within homes of faith, you have to choose between what you believe and who you love. No one should be forced to choose that.” Dan Reynolds