Think John Lennon and religion, and what springs to mind is his loose-cannon observation in 1966 that “The Beatles are more popular than Jesus” (which led radio stations to sponsor record burnings and others to make death threats) and assorted jibes Lennon took at organized religion in his two books. On the political site Counterpunch today, the editors honor the 25th anniversary of the lead Beatle’s death by unearthing a 1971 interview in which Lennon hints at a deeper religious history. “I used to go around calling myself a Christian Communist,” Lennon says, before recounting how therapy “forced me to have done with all the God s—t.”