When Stephen Colbert made the jump from Comedy Central to CBS this fall, he promised to drop the faux-outraged political persona he crafted on The Colbert Report and present a more authentic version of himself. And since he’s taken over for David Letterman as the host of The Late Show, there’s one element of Colbert’s identity that’s been a fixture of his network TV presence: his strong Catholic faith. Here’s a look at four of the times Colbert brought Christianity to late night.
###Attempting to Convert Bill Maher
“Come on back, Bill. The door is always open. Golden ticket, right before you. All you have to do is humble yourself in the presence of the Lord and admit there are things greater than you in the universe that you do not understand, and salvation awaits you.”
###Sharing His Faith in Interviews
“That’s my context for my existence, is that I am here to know God, love God, serve God, that we might be happy with each other in this world and with Him in the next—the catechism. That makes a lot of sense to me.”
###Telling Oprah His Favorite Bible Verse
“[My favorite] is from Matthew. I like it because Jesus says, ‘So I say to you, do not worry.’ … It’s not like, try not to worry. ‘So I say to you: Do. Not. Worry.’ So if you worry, you’re being disobedient.”
###Quoting Scripture When Talking About the Refugee Controversy
“If you want to know if somebody’s a Christian, just ask them to complete this sentence: ‘Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you…”’ If they don’t say, ‘welcomed me in,’ then they are either a terrorist or they’re running for president.”