Just like politics, religion is one of those charged topics people tend to tiptoe around, especially in mixed company where opinions and beliefs don’t always align. But during a recent conversation, rapper T.I. discussed his views on faith and lack of connection to the church in a setting he seemi ngly believed was safe. The conversation was led by gospel singer Kirk Franklin, who — presumably due to his affiliation with religion — was most intrigued by T.I.’s controversial revelation. Kirk Franklin openly listens to T.I.’s frustration with the church. (Photos: Den of Kings/YouTube Screenshot; Prince Williams/WireImage) Domani Harris Claims a Pastor’s Attempt to Exploit T.I.’s Celebrity Status to Pad the Collection Plate Turned His Family Away from Attending Church T.I. was joined by RB singers Eric Bellinger and Jacquees, and record producer Jermaine Dupri in the Dec. 14th episode of Franklin’s show “Den of Kings.” The “Now Behold the Lamb” artist asked the men how their local communities benefited from local churches and what they believed the church could have done differently or better to help their communities. T.I. initially tossed it up to Jacquees, and once all the other men answered the question, the Atlanta-native rapper finally dropped his response. “I’ve never been a church person,” he explained, noting that he grew up with strong-praying aunties and a grandmother who religiously played the tambourine.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) So despite his distance from the church, he said, “I know how to pray and I know the word. I know God is real, and I’ve seen the presence in the hand that he’s had in my life personally. Don’t nobody ain’t got to tell me that. I just ain’t never really felt the connection with church.” Franklin asked him to explain why, and T.I. bluntly stated, “To be honest with you, I don’t think it’s real. I think it’s a business, just like anything else. And it’s a show just like anything else. Just like you go to Broadway and see a show.” He took it further, added, “Sometimes they try and twist the word [to] make the word mean something you know that will be personally benefiting to them and not necessarily what the word means, you know, as its purpose.” The “Rubber Band Man” used examples from the Bible to further prove his point, suggesting that the only moment the Bible really shows Jesus losing his temper was inside the church itself, pointing to the scene where he witnessed religious leaders misusing God’s word for personal gain. According to T.I., it was that manipulation — not outsiders or nonbelievers — that pushed Jesus to anger and led him to overturn tables. “That’s when Jesus got mad. Flipped tables,” he continued. “You know what I’m saying? Had Jesus out here like he on ‘Love and Hip-hop.'” “But that’s why I connect with the word like the true word, the spirit. I don’t need no broker. I don’t need no middle man,” he added.  The Atlanta native noted that he’s seen this dynamic play out firsthand, recalling church services where pastors openly pressed congregants for excessive amounts of money from the very people they were supposed to uplift. He recalled one moment in particular when a preacher urged the crowd, “‘Come on, y’all. Put [it] into the collection plate. Dig deeper. Get your prayers past the ceiling.’” “I said, ‘Hold up. Wait a minute. Y’all telling me I got to pay this joker for my God to hear my prayer? Man, I’m out of here,'” explained the former star of “T.I. Tiny’s Family Hustle.” Franklin chimed in with his thoughts, saying, “That’s unfortunate. Those moments are unfortunate.” T.I. stressed that his views don’t reflect every one that attends church and operates within it. He’s aware that there are God-fearing people with the right intentions.  On the flip side, he believes, “There’s leadership, there’s enough people in enough positions that understand that there is ways to manipulate this word to personally benefit [from it].” Fans had mixed reactions in the comments of The Shade Room’s post.  One person who agreed said, “Church is a BUSINESS, spirituality is the RELATIONSHIP.” Another person who had the same feelings wrote, “You don’t need a building to follow Christ who preached in the streets.” Someone else who felt different wrote, “The Lord calls us to be in church and fellowship with other believers. Y’all don’t let folks at your jobs that you don’t like stop you from working so why let other flawed PEOPLE stop you from going to church. Find the right church home let GOD lead you but to completely stop going to church cuz of people isn’t the way.”  A different person challenged T.I.’s thinking wrote, “When it comes to church we got every excuse in the universe as to why we don’t go, but let it be 25k for a club appearance…………..” While T.I.’s viewpoint of the church has created a dialogue of its own, he has not responded to the discourse or any negative backlash about his comments. But his revelation comes two years after the rapper’s son, Domani, revealed that his “very religious” family regularly attended church until an experience where a pastor appeared to lean on T.I.’s celebrity status and overly emphasized passing the collection plate. In a QA with TRSH Magazine, the 22-year-old artist said, “I think we started slowing down ‘cause they started drawing too much attention and passing the collection plate like a little more often than usual. And they even had my father try to speak on stage with the pastor. Like, the pastor would hand him the microphone, like, ‘Tip, you got something to say?’” The incident made the family uncomfortable, leading them to step back from attending services regularly, though Domani emphasized he still believes in the value of church as an institution. ‘They Try and Twist the Word’: Kirk Franklin Visibly Stunned as T.I. Trashes Churches After Being Hustled Two Years Earlier ...read more read less