Michael Jackson has held a special place in my heart because his songs defined my growing-up years. I hear “Thriller” or “Beat It” or “Billie Jean,” and I’m once again 10 years old, signing and dancing around my bedroom, feeling as though the world is overflowing with possibility.

Michael captivated the imaginations of people here in America and around the world. He ignited our desire to realize our potential and to experience our passion. He was magnetic, captivating, and charismatic, and we couldn’t get enough of him.

Michael Jackson Photo Source

Michael Jackson: The Man Created in Our Image

The depth and extent of our fascination with Michael Jackson elevated him to the status of quasi-religious figure. We gave him the throne at the altar of the tabloid spectacle of our celebrity-obsessed culture, and then granted him the dubious honor as the ultimate draw of our reality-show-driven mentality. In the end, we treated him like we do all of our Gods—we loved him, then we mocked, derided, and crucified him, and then began to love him again after his death.

Michael Jackson Statue in The Netherlands

Retreat to Neverland

Michael lived up to our labels of him as an idol, a pop God—removing himself from the din and weariness of the world by retreating to a surreal creation Neverland Ranch, where he could indulge his Peter Pan fantasies of never growing up. He was living a childhood myth/fantasy of complete suspension in time, triumph of youthful energy over age and responsibility. He was immersed in the world of fairies, mermaids, Indians, and pirates. He invited ill children suffering from cancer and other life-threatening diseases to engage in his half-reality by having sleepovers. It seems that it was just a matter of time before allegations that Michael was a pedophile would surface.

Neverland Gates Photo Source

Yet there was much of this “Neverland” aspect of Michael that we revered for its purity and sweet goodness. This is the part of Michael that sang about the highest wish and vision we have for ourselves. We could experience this part of ourselves when Michael sang “We Are the World,” which was a collaboration of 45 popular musicians to raise money to alleviate famine in Ethiopia; “Heal the World,” which spurred the creation of the Heal the World Foundation, a charity that works to improve the lives of children as well as address a variety of other worldwide problems; and the lofty and indulgent, yet seemingly effortless and beautiful “Man in the Mirror,” which asks us to make a change in ourselves to change the world. Michael inspired us to foster our best intentions; envision and believe in a different, better, and more beautiful world; and take action.

Michael Jackson’s Religious Search

Yet for all the uncomplicated, powerful messages that Michael brought to us through his art, he did not seem to be able to realize the same wholeness, completion, and peace within himself. What was the sadness that was so palpable around him? Why did his spiritual search that was so evident in his music dead end in his life? What were his religious beliefs? The answers to these questions are tangled and convoluted.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Michael was raised a Jehovah’s Witness. His mother was and is devout. Michael knocked on doors, proselytizing for the church, even after he had gained some measure of stardom. However, after the Jehovah’s Witnesses disapproved of his Thriller video, he gave up his ties to the religion.

The foundation of the Jehovah’s Witness faith is belief that Jesus Christ is the son of God (though not God himself), who gave his life for the salvation of humankind. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe in the authority of the Bible, though they use their own translation. They believe that the time is imminent when a theocracy will be established upon the earth. Most of the righteous will be given everlasting life and live in a recreated paradise on earth. One hundred and forty-four thousand of the very most righteous, some of whom have already died, will go to heaven to rule with God and Jesus. The unrighteous will simply die and cease to exist.

Judaism

Michael also had ties to Judaism. Debbie Rowe, his ex-wife and the father of two of his three children, is Jewish. In Judaism, Jewish lineage is passed through the mother. In other words, a baby born to a Jewish mother is automatically a Jew and does not need to be converted.

Michael also developed a friendship with the popular Orthodox rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Rabbi Shmuley tutored Michael about Jewish practices and attended synagogue with him. “I know people saw him as a bad person,” said Rabbi Shmuley. “But that wasn’t true. He was a person with a lot of issues and sadly he never addressed those issues.”

The foundation of Judaism is belief in one God. Judaism is heavily centered on ethical action, as opposed to faith. The Torah (Old Testament) is the holy scripture, in which Jews believe God revealed instructions to them to lead the world as the chosen people. The 10 Commandments are at the core of the religion.

Star of David Photo Source

Islam

Rounding out Michael Jackson’s search into traditional religion is his exploration of Islam. Type in “Michael Jackson” and “religion” in Google, and you’ll get a number of hits claiming that he died a Muslim. Is that true, though? There are various sources that say Michael converted to Islam in 2008, though other sites claim that he never converted.

Michael’s brother, Jermaine, converted to Islam in 1989. Jermaine said, “When I came back from Mecca I got [Michael] a lot of books and he asked me lots of things about my religion and I told him that it’s peaceful and beautiful.” It seems that Michael inquired into the faith.  After Michael died, various news agencies report that Jermaine said, “May Allah be with you, Michael, always.”

The process for conversion to Islam is straightforward and could, in fact, be part of the reason that it’s unclear if Michael converted. All one must do is believe that Islam is the one true religion, and then one must say the “Shahadah,” the declaration of faith: “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his Prophet.” The word “Muslim” means “one who submits to God.” The central belief in Islam is that there is only one God, whom Muslims call Allah. Muslims believe the Quran (alternately spelled Qur’an and Koran) is the word of God revealed to Muhammad.

Crescent Moon and Star Photo Source

Michael Jackson’s Death

On June 25, 2009, news of Michael Jackson’s death spread like a raging, uncontrollable wildfire. Celebrities, fans, and others around the world were sincerely shocked and devastated on one level, though I believe that many knew that Michael was not well and would meet an untimely death.

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“I can’t recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death,” Lisa Marie Presley, Michael’s ex-wife and daughter of the late Elvis Presley, wrote on her blog. “At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, ‘I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did.’ ”

Rabbi Shmuley had expressed the same sentiment. He recounted on his blog that in 2004 he had conceded that “my great fear, and why I felt I had to be distanced from Michael . . . was that he would not live long. My fear was that Michael’s life would be cut short. When you have no ingredients of a healthy life, when you are totally detached from that which is normal, and when you are a super-celebrity you, God forbid, end up like Janis Joplin, like Elvis . . . Michael is headed in that direction.’ “

What We Can Learn from Michael Jackson About Ourselves

Despite all of the speculation about what kind of religious funeral Michael would have, his funeral ended up being a religion-free, God-free affair, which seems to square well with the lack of spiritual satisfaction that Michael experienced in his life. In his death as in his life, Michael is a flawed symbol of the dull, though persistent ache at the core of modern society. Out of our deep hunger for “something,” we made Michael into a modern hero in the hopes that he could lead us to transcendence. We revered his otherworldly talent, his ability to captivate us with the beauty, power, and authenticity of his music, his dance, his art—we forever have the image of him moonwalking across the stage as fans fainted and cried out for the unquenchable desire that he awoke in them. In the end, we are left as empty as Michael was—the half-man, half-child, half-God: inconsolable and unsatisfied.

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What I take away from Michael’s death is that if we are not true to ourselves, if we listen instead to what others think of us and try to live up to their expectations, ultimately we will sell our soul, and no amount of fame, money, or talent will save us.

Rabbi Shmuley summed up the impact of Michael’s life aptly on his blog: “There was a great beauty and gentility in Michael’s soul. His talents far surpassed those of his contemporaries and he yearned deeply to make the world a better place. I am saddened that the emotional pain he lived with prevented him from finding the meaning and connectedness which he longed for.”

Michael Jackson Autograph Source