An atheist's unnerving descent into Hallow, the prayer app beloved by MAGA celebrities

[marmar]

An atheist's unnerving descent into Hallow, the prayer app beloved by MAGA celebrities
Endorsed by Gwen Stefani and Russell Brand, Hallow's take on religion is the opiate of MAGA

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published April 18, 2025 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) When folks started seeing ads about a Christian prayer app featuring "Voice" judge and pop icon Gwen Stefani, the initial reaction was mild bemusement. "This year, I'm excited to share that I've partnered with this amazing prayer, meditation and music app called Hallow," she declared in a Christmas ad, asking viewers to "join me and millions of other Christians around the world."

"Watching your heroes get old is so depressing," said one Redditor, in a typical response. "I never thought I'd see trad-wife grifter Gwen Stefani but here we are I guess."

....(snip)....

In the advertising, the Hallow app seems bland enough. The founder, a rich management consultant unfortunately named Alex Jones, claims the goal is to "share the beauty, peace, and power of the Church’s spirituality with the world," all for $70 a year. But the whiff of MAGA isn't too hard to detect, for someone who knows what they're sniffing for. Early funding came largely from Donald Trump fanboys Peter Thiel and JD Vance, the latter now serving as Trump's vice president. Celebrity endorsements and collaborations include Trump's buddy Mark Wahlberg, anti-abortion actor Jonathan Roumie and Chris Pratt, whose efforts to hide his MAGA leanings always fall short. The app also recruited washed-up British comedian Russell Brand, but they are putting that endorsement deal on pause now that he's been legally charged with rape in his home country.

I'm an atheist who wasn't raised with much religion at all, so I've never observed Lent. But after seeing all this hullabaloo, I thought I'd take my first crack at the season of self-inflicted suffering — in the name of journalism, not Jesus. So I downloaded the Hallow app, after saying a fruitless prayer of hope that it does not steal all my private data. Like most Lent observers, my commitment to my oath to listen to this app faltered at times. Still, I muscled through many days of lessons on how to be a godly woman and treacly prayers read by Chris Pratt. What I discovered is that while religion may not be the opiate of the masses, as Karl Marx famously wrote, this app is a sedative to dull the consciences of MAGA.

....(snip)....

Most of this material doesn't seem political, but it does encourage a form of small-minded narcissism, with the relentless focus on the self. The Jesus of the Hallow app isn't much concerned about social justice or caring for the downtrodden, but about being your good buddy who strokes your hair after a bad day at work. The "demonic" forces the believer is called upon to resist aren't grave evils like human rights abuses. Satan seems more interested in frustrating you with traffic than, say, installing a fascist leader in the White House to destroy democracy. It doesn't seem political, but the project of lulling users into not caring about anything outside their immediate self-interest suits the goals of the MAGA movement. And it's probably more persuasive to ordinary people than overt right-wing propaganda. This isn't the Christianity of the liberal Christians I know, who volunteer, donate money, and care very much about electing better leaders. This is a "don't worry your pretty head about all that stuff" kind of Christianity. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/04/18/an-atheists-unnerving-descent-into-hallow-the-prayer-app-beloved-by-maga-celebrities/

[4th]

1. Didn't know there was such a thing as a 'prayer app', but ...

Last edited Fri Apr 18, 2025, 02:43 PM - Edit history (1)

... now that I know not surprised MAGA celebrities are into it.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. An app is a way of saying you're doing something without actually committing to it.

You're just sacrificing some digital storage and processor time, not re-shaping your soul, which is what MAGAts really need.

[maxrandb]

3. It's almost as if, 6,000 years ago

the wealthy and powerful held a summit:

"Look, the poor and the unwashed masses are always complaining and demanding stuff. Food, water, shelter, security, honest wages, protections under law, etc.,...What if we give them an invisible sky-being that is responsible for EVERYTHING? If we can convince enough of them that their "true reward" comes in their afterlife, they won't notice how much we're screwing them over in this one"

[KPN]

10. That's a grest characterization of it. Well dine!

[Orrex]

13. I had a very similar realization years ago, and I've never been able to shake it

Organized religion is always always always about control, about amassing wealth to secure political power to amass more wealth to secure more political power. Always. 100% of the time. No execptions ever. Not one.

That's not to disparage anyone's personal faith, but as an institution, organized religion is inherently corrupt by design and always will be.

[Cirsium]

15. Pie in the sky

[4th]

23. Pie in the sky ...

Words by Joe Hill, BTW.

[Cirsium]

24. Yep

Thanks.

Joe Hill was born in Gavle, Sweden in 1879, and immigrated to the USA in 1902 for want of work. After years of itinerant labor, he joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW,) commonly known as the "Wobblies," in 1908. The IWW was a radical labor union, which represented not just skilled workers, but any worker, in any job, regardless of age, race, or gender. The union was also not just focused on obtaining improvements in wages, hours, or conditions, but a total overthrow of the capitalist system.

Hill hid in boxcars and "rode the rails" to where he could find work, and after a couple years he became an organizer in the IWW, writing songs to mobilize the workers during times of strikes. His "Little Red Songbook" spread throughout the IWW and therefore throughout the country, whenever Wobblies went on strike, they would sing his songs, and usually he would be there too. And in 1914, the strikes were in Utah, involving the workers of Utah Construction Company, represented by IWW local 69, cheered on by Joe Hill in person. There had been repeated clashes between the IWW and the Salt Lake City Police that created an atmosphere of tension in the city.

On January 10, 1914. Hill was shot in the chest and went to visit a doctor friend to have it treated, the same night John and Arling Morrison were killed in a robbery at the grocery store at which they worked. Hill's doctor reported him to the police, and Hill was promptly arrested. Hill, and many others in the IWW or otherwise sympathetic to his cause, believed the arrest and trial would simply be harassment, as it so often had been before. But Hill, after meeting his state-appointed lawyers, felt strongly that his lawyers had been bribed to 'throw' the case, despite the lack of evidence, and he chose to represent himself. He argued that his songs were free and protected speech, and that the work of the IWW in Utah was protected under the right to associate, and that their actions were chiefly against economic inequality.

Hill's trial lasted less than one month, during which time the state failed to provide any motive, a single piece of evidence, or indeed any possible indication that any of the bandits had been Joe Hill. The only piece of evidence the prosecution submitted was Joe Hill's IWW red card. The IWW were known for being violent and inhumane, claimed the prosecution, and Hill was a member of it. Hill wanted to overthrow capitalism, civilization itself they claimed, and through his songwriting and performances, even if he hadn't done the murders himself, he was equally responsible. Hill's demands that he had been mistried and appeals for a retrial fell upon deaf ears, and against nationwide beliefs that there had been an abrogation of due process, he was found guilty by jury on June 27 and sentenced to death on July 8th.

https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/872

[Brainfodder]

4. Russell's endorsement is right on brand?

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Well, the MAGA leader is an adjudicated rapist (his sexual assault would be rape in a British court)

so yeah, I guess MAGA, and MAGA grifting apps ($70 a year to pray?), ought to be fine with Russell's charges.

[Brainfodder]

8. That was a play on words not a real inquiry, but this anything for a buck endless hustle-a-thon has to end?

Something better be up, this is too stupid, the whole thing, all the falling in line BS for years on end, so many people corrupted with if using Occam's Razor, just $$$$$$$$$$$?

Greed and bad with math making fools of many?

[MayReasonRule]

22. Laughing My Ass Off!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. maga bubble maintenance

An interesting look at maga minds.

[Orrex]

7. Watch for her new single "I'm Just a Shill"

[BattleRow]

9. An over the hill shill,at that.

[MayReasonRule]

20. You're Beautful Y'all!!!

[Iggo]

11. LOL "Prayer App"

Come on, people. If anything screams “IT’S A GRIFT!”, it’s a goddam prayer app. You can’t just keep walking right into this shit. You’re not. That. Stupid.

[ToxMarz]

12. Everyone knows Chrisitains loves them some "Hollaback Girls"!

[Dan]

14. As the song says 'I knew Jesus, before he was a superstar'.

In my youngest days….smiles

[WestMichRad]

16. "Hollow"

… is more like it. They misspelled the name of their app!

[MagickMuffin]

17. And . . . Do they take their phones into the closet?

After Jesus told them to pray in private.

I suppose the Alex Jones of Preyers is the ticket.


Oh well none of them are getting into heaven. That ship has sailed.

[MayReasonRule]

18. Gwen Stefani Is A Huge Disappointment

She kicked ass before she sank into the delusional maelstrom of Abrahamic blood cults.

Delusion is a hell of a drug.
Fuck delusion.

[flashman13]

19. You live for the fight when that's all that you've got

We are fighting for nothing less than the soul of the country. No amount of wishful thinking on a propaganda app will get the job done. Stand tall. Do not be afraid.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

25. Awesome article

I do see in the way my psychiatric day program classes are peppered with subtle right wing crap. I called them out for the Jesus shit a few years ago saying you accept state money then leave Jesus in church.besides it retraumatizes me and Christian’s abuse is real.

But they do little projects like a gratefulness box. Looks innocent enough but the gratefulness were so self centered and minor .And they do other shit like occasionally misgendering me or refusing to let me attend the men’s group and other stuff that encourages small minded narcissism.This shit will not help anybody.

I have suggested attending protests on mental health month, civics classes,
gathering stuff we don’t need and go to a homeless camp and hand it out to whoever wants it.

I have suggested attending protests in general.

I suggested attending pride.

Suggested a community garden.

And plenty more suggestions.

However they did take up one of my ideas a program run food bank , with clothes giveaway ,stuff giveaway buy and donate sealed bottles of body wash etc.

To set a room aside and put that gigantic chest freezer upstairs to use.

Some of the staff are donating stuff from thier gardens my therapist has a home chicken flock and she’s donating eggs. She has kept me in eggs for awhile she has Easter egg ers and she gave me a huge mint green egg I was sure it was going to be a double yolk but it wasn’t. However a slightly smaller brown speckled egg was a double yolk made an awesome sandwich with toast and butter.

Anyway that feel good ism in the face of minor tragedies is down right toxic and it encourages people to not care or face real life issues bigger than oneself.Or form the bonds and connections in the community that makes taking on things bigger than oneself possible .

[xmas74]

26. If im looking for an app to help me relax

I'll stick with Quinn,lol.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

27. Get a cat

Petting an adorable perfect soft purring cat soothes the soul better than anything else I know and when he looks in your eyes with love it will melt your heart. Go adopt a kitty you won’t regret it. One of the cats will pick you to be thier companion.

[xmas74]

29. I have a cat.

I was just making jokes about app.

Fyi- Quinn is an audio erotica app developed by women that allows people to safely explore certain fantasies through storytelling aimed towards the listener. It's marketed towards women of all sexualities and non binary,though some men do listen.

[pandr32]

28. This sounds like it was created by...

Jesse Gemstone.

[bdjhawk]

30. Not surprised at all about Chris Pratt

Very disappointing that he is Maria Shriver’s son-in-law. Maria and his wife Katherine Schwartzenegger talk about women’s empowerment/strong women yet this is part of the “God says women are
Second class and should be submissive to men” cult. Yuck!