Why Benson Boone Was 'Frustrated' Growing Up Mormon

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the "Beautiful Things" singer opened up about growing up Mormon, and shared why the religion often left him "confused" and "frustrated."

"Growing up, a lot of people at church would talk about these experiences that they've had and these personal revelations and feelings and voices," Boone recalled. "I never felt it as physically present as they did, and so I was always confused and frustrated."

Boone said he was "scared" to bring up the way he was feeling to people, and often struggled with not being on the same page as others at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-­day Saints.

"I was always scared to bring that up to people because I just didn't want to accept that, like, I wasn't feeling what everyone else was feeling," he added.

But he realized he wasn't the only one. A friend in the church felt the same, giving Boone the space he was seeking to form his own opinions about religion.

" I don’t want to be a part of one religion. I have my own opinions. Some are from this religion, some are from this religion, some are from no religion," he explained.

The decision wasn't easy, however, with the American Idol alum telling Rolling Stone that his decision to distance himself from the Mormon faith caused some friction with his family.

"My parents definitely have their own views, but when it comes to religion and God, they want me to figure it out on my own," Boone said. "And whatever I come to, and whatever I feel is right, that's what they want for me."

Boone, who spent a semester at Brigham Young University before dropping out to pursue music compared his uncertainty about religion to the way he feels about politics.

"People think if you have one or two views that are on the left or right side, that you have to be the left or on the right. And I don't think that's how it is," he said before making a distinction about the title he chose for his album, American Heart.

"It's not political at all," Boone said. "It's more of a personal thing. It's just me. American Heart is my heart, and it's not my heart because it's American. It's my heart because I'm Benson Boone," he maintained.

Check out Rolling Stone's full interview with Boone here.