Faith Hill was born in Ridgeland, Mississippi and raised in Star, Mississippi.
With a first name like Faith, it's no surprise that she was raised in a devout Baptist family. Hill even got her start singing in church, though not always for her own congregation.
The music that inspired me early on was the music I heard in church. I was brought up in a Baptist church, but when I was a teenager I sang in black churches, Pentecostal, and I'm really inspired by that music.[1]
She's clearly still a devout Christian. When talking about how her religion is a huge part of her life, Hill said,
That's where my strength comes from. It's my foundation. I was raised in a Christian home and it prepared me to deal with life on my own . . . Having a backbone of spirituality makes me a little stronger. I pray a lot, and when I first moved to Nashville, that's what kept me alive. I believed I was being taken care of. I apply it to my life every day. It's how I've always looked at things.[2]
Her lyrics often reflect her spirituality, although she doesn't have too big a hand in the actual writing of her songs.
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord
Hill obviously takes the Bible's many references to helping the needy seriously. The list of charities she's been involved with is impressive, to say the least. Hill and her husband, country musician Tim McGraw, established a foundation to fund local charities that provide health and educational services.[3] They donated $1 million to benefit children displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005[4] and they gave $375,000 to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society to help families affected by the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2000.[5] And that's just a few of them.
Hill isn't too tight with her money when it comes to political campaigns either. She gave $7,500 to the Democratic National Committee in 2004, and another $5,000 to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.[6] She showed her support for the Democrat after his election by performing at his inaugural celebration.[7]
She hasn't waxed poetic on all her reasons for being a Democrat, but her husband made it clear that he and his wife stand with the president.
My wife and I and our family will do everything we can to support Obama.[8]
Perhaps in fear of alienating some of her fan base, Hill hasn't come out in support of gay marriage. Yet. She did, however, privately support a fellow country musician who came out as a lesbian in 2010.[9] But maybe now that support of gay marriage is part of the Democratic platform, she'll jump on board in front of the rest of the nation and her fans.
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