Russell Brand wants to ‘know more’ about Christianity at university

The comedian has recently enrolled at the School of Oriental and African Studies in Russell Square where he will also study Islam and Baha’ism.

He told ES Magazine: “I am very interested in the role that religion and spirituality will play in the further formulation of world events and how secular societies are held together.

“The old idea (about politics) is dead and people don’t know what’s replacing it yet, so I’m spending some time discovering what it is.”

Brand, who has said he would not describe himself as a Christian, has previously associated himself with mysticism, rather than atheism.

During an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan in 2014, he said: “I choose to believe in God because I think what that is, is the recognition that there is divine beauty in all of us, and if we prioritise that over our own selfish material needs we will naturally create a culture more in harmony with our planet and we’ll have a chance.”

Brand recently moved from London to the countryside where he and his financee Laura Gallacher are expecting their first child.

He told ES: “I’m very excited about becoming a dad and I’m preparing myself. I am just getting ready to be with a new little person and see what it is they want. I feel lit up by the idea.”