Courtesy of HBOImagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds‘ documentary Believer, which follows his journey to bridge the gap between his Mormon faith and the LGBTQ community, premieres tonight on HBO. As he tells ABC’s Good Morning America, Reynolds realized he didn’t agree with his religion’s treatment of the LGBTQ community at a young age.
“I think it probably started in middle school,” he explains. “One of my closest friends was gay and Mormon, and I watched the inner conflict, and how shamed he felt.”
In the Mormon church’s home state of Utah, suicide is the leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24, and Reynolds feels that its opposition of same-sex relationships is a significant contributor to that disturbing trend. While some have left the church due to its policies, Reynolds feels he can inspire change from within.
“I think that when you’re on the inside of a community, that’s how you make the change,” he says.
Believer also details the formation of Reynolds’ LOVELOUD festival last year, which he staged in Utah to raise awareness of the state’s youth suicide rate. He says that creating the festival was “super challenging.”
“I had sponsors who said, ‘You know, we’ll come on board with this, if you take out of your mission statement ‘accept.’ ‘Love’ is OK, but let’s not say, ‘Love and accept,”” Reynolds recalls.
Despite any push-back he may receive, Reynolds says he’ll continue to champion the film’s cause.
“Most people like to slam the door on a missionary’s face,” he laughs. “I had plenty of that, but I was absolutely determined for that one door. I’m gonna knock a thousand doors, a hundred thousand doors! This is one door shut in face? Pfft! Cool, man. Let’s go! You can shut it all day, I’ll keep knocking.”
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