More popular than Jesus More popular than Jesus "More popular than Jesus" was part of a longer remark made by John Lennon during a 1966 interview, in which he argued that the public was more infatuated with the Beatles than with Jesus and that rock music might outlast Christianity. His opinions drew no controversy when originally published in the United Kingdom, but when republished in the United States a few months later, angry reactions flared up in Christian communities. The full quotation was: The statement originates from a March 1966 article for the London newspaper the "Evening Standard". When "Datebook", a US teen magazine,
Religious views of the Beatles the "Evening Standard" that the Beatles had become "more popular than Jesus". The comment went unnoticed until in August the same year, the American magazine "Datebook" published it, inciting protests against the Beatles. The band were threatened, their records were publicly burned, and radio stations refused to play their songs. After the Beatles' 1966 US tour, Harrison broadened his interest of Indian culture to Hinduism. He and his wife Pattie Boyd went on a pilgrimage to Mumbai to meet gurus. In 1968, all four Beatles went to Rishikesh in northern India to study meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Although