Bono doesn't attend church on a regular basis. However, he does pray regularly, usually before meals and he tries to have a "Sabbath hour" as often as he can. He likes Eugene Peterson's bible paraphrase, The Message. Sometimes he hangs out with Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones, and sometimes he hangs out with Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant:

"I just go where the life is, you know? Where I feel the Holy Spirit," Bono told Christianity Today. "If it's in the back of a Roman Catholic cathedral, in the quietness and the incense, which suggest the mystery of God, of God's presence, or in the bright lights of the revival tent, I just go where I find life. I don't see denomination. I generally think religion gets in the way of God.

"I am just trying to figure it out. Everybody wants to make an impact with their life, whether it's small scale with friends or family—that's really big, is the truth—or whether it's on a grand scale, in changing their communities and beyond.

"I just want to realize my potential." He recalled one pastor's recent advice: Stop asking God to bless what you're doing. Find out what God's doing. It's already blessed. "That's what I want," Bono said. "I want to align my life with that."[19]

 

In a beliefnet.com interview, Bono said,"I often wonder if religion is the enemy of God. It's almost like religion is what happens when the Spirit has left the building."

In an article titled, "HIV, Bono, and Christianity Today" by Fayola Shakes, Bono said,

Shouldn't the focus be on meeting the person's where they're at? Isn't that what Jesus did? He didn't shout "Repent, you little hussy!" to the woman caught in the act of adultery. As far I recall, it went more like this:

"Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, 'Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?'

'No, Lord,' she said. And Jesus said, 'Neither do I. Go and sin no more.'"

So why does the church still have a pocket full of stones? I could see if it were 1984. Back then everyone -- scientists, doctors, HIVers -- was searching for answers.

Bono is set to release a new book titled On The Move: A Speech By Bono, in April of this year. The book will include the keynote address Bono gave at a White House Prayer Breakfast Address in 2005 as well striking photos he took in Ethiopia during his first visit to the continent in 1985.

A quote from On The Move:

"In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month. A tsunami every month. And it's a completely avoidable catastrophe. I truly believe that when the history books are written, our age will be remembered for three things: the war on terror, the digital revolution, and what we did—or did not do—to put the fire out in Africa."

Is Bono, the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group U2, a Christian? He says he is and writes about Christianity in his lyrics. Yet many people question whether Bono is "really" a Christian, due to his notoriously bad language, liberal politics, and rock star antics (though he has been faithfully married for 23 years). But in a new book of interviews, Bono in Conversation by Michka Assayas, Bono, though using some salty language, makes an explicit confession of faith.

The interviewer, Mr. Assayas, begins by asking Bono, Doesn't he think "appalling things" happen when people become religious? Bono counters, "It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma."
-Salty dogma, Gene Edward Veith
Copyright © 2007 WORLD Magazine

Biography

Bono, image ©theage.com.au
(larger image)

When asked whether he would call himself a Catholic or Protestant, the singer is reported to have said, "I always felt like I was sitting on the fence." His mother died of a brain hemorrhage at her father's funeral, when Bono was fourteen years old. Many U2 songs, especially from the early albums ("I Will Follow", "Out of Control", "Tomorrow"), focus on this part of his life.

He attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School, an Ecumenical school, which was the first of its kind in Dublin. During his childhood and adolescence, Bono and his friends were part of a surrealist street gang called "Lypton Village," where one of the rituals was nickname-giving. He had several names: first, he was "Steinvic von Huyseman", then just "Huyseman", then "Houseman", then "Bon Murray", "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street", and finally just "Bono".

"Bono Vox" is an alteration of Bona Vox, a brand of hearing aid. The phrase in Latin translates to "good voice".

In 1976, Bono responded to an advertisement by fellow student Larry Mullen, Jr. to form a band, as did Dave Evans (also known as The Edge), brother Dick Evans (who soon left the band), and Adam Clayton. The remaining four formed a band named 'Feedback', before changing the name to 'The Hype' and then settling on U2. Initially Bono sang, played guitar and wrote songs. As The Edge became a better guitarist, Bono was relegated to vocals, although he often plays acoustic guitar and harmonica.

Bono married his longtime girlfriend, Alison "Ali" Stewart, on 21 August 1982, in an Anglican ceremony at a chapel on the Guinness family estate. The singer has mentioned in several interviews that his stint in U2 and relationship with Ali began around the same time. The couple have four children: Jordan (b. 1989), Memphis Eve ('Eve' b. 1991), Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q (b. 1999) and John Abraham (b. 2001).

Following the Enniskillen bombing in 1987, several newspapers claimed Provisional IRA paramilitaries had put Bono on a hit-list for his "f*#^ the revolution" speech following the bombing that left 11 dead and 63 injured on 8 November 1987. The singer had been advised to cut his on-stage outburst from the Rattle and Hum film but it stayed. Some papers suggested the film's charity London premiere on 31 October would have to be cancelled. It wasn't, and U2 all turned up, although their attempts to busk in Leicester Square were prevented by crowds and police.

In 1992, together with U2's guitarist The Edge, Bono bought and refurbished Dublin's two-star 70-bedroom Clarence Hotel and converted it into a five-star 49-bedroom hotel, which quickly gained a reputation as one of the most stylish (and expensive) hotels in the city.

Bono is almost never seen in public without his sunglasses on. He has said in a Rolling Stone interview that the reason is he has "very sensitive eyes to light. If somebody takes my photograph, I will see the flash for the rest of the day. My right eye swells up. I've a blockage there, so that my eyes go red a lot. So it's part vanity, it's part privacy, and part sensitivity."

Bono is on the board of the Elevation Partners private equity firm which attempted to purchase Eidos Interactive in 2005 and has since gone on to invest in other entertainment businesses.

Humanitarian work

Bono and U.S. President George W. Bush in 2006
(larger image)

In 1984, Bono sang on the Band Aid single and reprised his role on the 2004 Band Aid 20 single. He also performed at Live Aid in 1985, and Live 8 in 2005. Since 1999, he has become increasingly involved in campaigning for third-world debt relief and the plight of Africa.

Bono meets Brazil's President, Lula da Silva about world poverty eradication. He also donated a guitar to the Fome Zero program.In March 2002, Bono travelled to the White House for a special private meeting with President George W. Bush, who had just unveiled a $5 billion aid package for the world's poorest countries that respect human rights. He also accompanied the President for a speech on the White House lawn. He stated, "This is an important first step, and a serious and impressive new level of commitment.. This must happen urgently, because this is a crisis."

In May 2002, Bono took US Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill on a four-country tour of Africa. Later in that year, Bono set up an organization called "DATA", which stands for Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa. The focus of the organization is to raise awareness about what he claims are Africa's unpayable debts, uncontrolled spread of AIDS, and unfair trade rules that hurt the continent's poor citizens.

Bono made a speech during the inauguration of Paul Martin as Canada's prime minister, who in turn pledged to help with the global crisis. In 2005, in a time that some claimed Martin was facing "political destruction", Bono spoke on CBC Radio "bashing" Martin for being slow at increasing Canada's foreign aid. Following this a spokesperson for the Prime Minister pointed out that the budget has seen an 8% increase to aid and that "Rather than set an artificial deadline, the prime minister has focused on real increases measured in real dollars each and every year."

In early 2005, Bono, Ali Hewson and New York-based Irish fashion designer Rogan Gregory launched the socially conscious line EDUN. This has been an attempt to shift the focus in Africa from aid to trade. By utilizing factories in Africa, South America, and India that provide fair wages to the workers and practice good business ethics EDUN will hopefully create a business model which will encourage others to invest in developing nations.

In July 2005, Bono played a fundamental role in the effort to organize and publicize Live 8, a series of 10 concerts around the globe aimed at encouraging the representatives of the world's industrialized countries at the Group of Eight Summit to write off Africa's enormous debt, reform trade policy, and grant a great deal more aid for crises such as the AIDS epidemic.

Later in the year, before Paul Wolfowitz was chosen to replace James Wolfensohn as president of the World Bank, Bono was spoken about as a serious candidate for the position. United States Secretary of the Treasury John Snow said about Bono on the ABC news talk program This Week: "He's somebody I admire. He does a lot of good in this world of economic development." The selection process for the position is by member governments, however, and his selection was considered unlikely.

In December 2005, Bono was named by TIME as a Person of the Year, along with Bill and Melinda Gates. An article by former senator Jesse Helms appears in a special issue of May's Time magazine, "Time's 100 Most Influential People".

On 2 February 2006 Bono spoke in advance of United States President George W. Bush at the 54th Annual National Prayer Breakfast, held at the Hilton Washington Hotel. In a speech peppered with biblical references, Bono encouraged the care of the socially and economically depressed. His comments included a call for an extra 1% "tithe" of the United States' national budget. His Christian views were brought into harmony with other faiths as he noted that Christian, Jewish and Muslim writings universally called for the care of the widow, orphan, and stranger. President Bush appeared uncomfortable receiving praise from the singer-activist for the United States' increase in aid for the African continent. Bono continued by saying much work is left to be done to be a part of God's ongoing purposes.

In May 2006, Bono became Editor of The Independent newspaper for a day in aid of the (RED) charity.

In February 2003, 2005 & 2006, Bono was among the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2004 he was awarded the Pablo Neruda International Presidential Medal of Honour from the Government of Chile, one of only 100 recipients.

Criticism

Bono has also been criticized for his connection with the war game Mercenaries 2: "many people around the world have been shocked to find out that you are a part owner, through Elevation Partners, of Pandemic/Bioware producers of “Mercenaries 2” [..] a war game that simulates the invasion of Venezuela in the year 2007."

Bono, along with the rest of the band U2, has also come under criticism for moving part of their multi-million euro business empire out of Ireland for tax reasons. Commenting on the decision to move his assets to a tax shelter, Joan Burton, the finance spokesman of the Irish Labour Party commented:

"Having listened to Bono on the necessity for the Irish Government to give more money to Ireland Aid, of which I approve, I am surprised that U2 are not prepared to contribute to the Exchequer on a fair basis along with the bulk of Irish taxpayers.”

As the leader of the "Drop The Debt" Campaign, Bono has been strongly criticised in asking the top richest 25 countries to drop the debt to the poorest countries, in effect requesting the tax payers to foot such debt. The criticism was underlined by virtue of the fact that Bono has recently moved his accounts base to Amsterdam in order to avoid tax payable on artists royalties - a tax artists in Ireland wouldn't have had to pay up to recently.

U2 were able to exploit a 1969 artists-tax exemption, intended to help struggling artists, until it was semi-repealed in 2005 and pay relatively little tax despite their great wealth, estimated at €690 million+ by the Sunday Times. This, coupled with his charity campaigning has led to accusations, in the Irish media, that he is two-faced. When he criticised the Irish government for not meeting the DATA target of 0.7% of GDP to be set aside for the 3rd World a government minister, Conor Lenihan, suggested that if he paid his taxes then the government would be halfway to meeting the figure.

He has also been accused of hypocrisy for his decision to buy a 40%, £160 million share in Forbes magazine, as its pro-capitalism, right-wing politics are seemingly at odds with Bono's left-wing campaigning. Bono is reported to be an avid reader of the publication. An article in The Daily Mail on 12 August 2006 also presented a different picture of him than his own publicity. He is an owner of several luxury houses, a fleet of expensive cars and is a noted wine connoisseur who regularly spends thousands on a single bottle at his favourite New York restaurants. And despite his campaiging for reduction in fuel emissions, along with the other members of U2 he purchased an Airbus A320 to fly them around the world on their latest tour. His interest in making money was noted by investment expert Roger McNamee with whom he formed Elevation Partners, which invested £200 million merging two computer games firms. Sources also report he is interested in buying a stake in the large U.S newspaper group Knight Ridder in addition to his well-publicised bid for BMG Publishing.

Equipment

Other endeavours

In 1992, together with The Edge, Bono bought and refurbished Dublin's two-star 70-bedroom Clarence Hotel and converted it into a five-star 49-bedroom hotel that quickly became one of the city's most stylish (and expensive) hotels. The hotel's basement was also home to the now defunct nightclub, The Kitchen.

Bono is on the board of the Elevation Partners private equity firm, which attempted to purchase Eidos Interactive in 2005 and has since gone on to invest in other entertainment businesses.

Recognition

Bono was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Time named Bono one of the "100 Most Influential People" in their May 2004 special issue. In 2005 Bono was named by Time as a Person of the Year along with Bill and Melinda Gates. Bono was named in the United Kingdom's 2007 New Years Honours List as an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Humanitarian criticism

Notes

1. « Simon, S. (Host). (13 November 1993). Weekend Edition Saturday. Washington, DC: National Public Radio.
2. « Lost Highway Records. (10 October 2005). News. Retrieved 7/1/2010.
3. « U2. (1998). Slow Dancing. On If God Will Send His Angels [CD-Single]. New York: Island Records.
4. « Louie, R. (6 February 1996). Short Takes. Buffalo News. Retrieved 3 May 2007, from Opera man Luciano Pavarotti wants to be hip (see also: Pavarotti and Bono, Ave Maria
5. « Review Collaborations Sinead O'Connor Retrieved 7/1/2010.
6. « Orbison, R. (1989). She's a Mystery to Me. On Mystery Girl [CD]. London: Virgin Records.
7. « Bono (1984, 10 August). BONO, BOB AND VAN. Hot Press
8. « Various Artists. (1995). Goldeneye. On Goldeneye: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [CD]. New York: Virgin Records
9. « U2. (1988). When Love Comes to Town. On Rattle and Hum [CD]. New York: Island Records.
10. « U2 Wanderer. (Unknown last update). U2 Discography—Q's Jook Joint. Retrieved 7/1/2010.
11. « Kirk Franklin. (1998). Lean on me. On THE NU NATION PROJECT [CD-Album]. Inglewood: GospoCentric Records.
12. « Stanley, A. (19 May 2007). Bruce Springsteen: THE RISING TOUR 2003-2003 FINAL TOUR STATISTICS: Bono 11/23/02 Miami Vocals, Because The Night Retrieved 7/1/2010.
13. « TonyBennett.net. Tony Bennett, Columbia Records. Retrieved 7/1/2010.
14. « U2tour.de. In A Lifetime (Clannad & Bono). Retrieved 7/1/2010.
15. « u2wanderer.org Bono contributes vocals to two live tracks , "Summer Rain" and "When the Stars Go Blue" Retrieved 7/1/2010.
16. « u2wanderer.org Bono sings and provides lyrics on the "Pop Versions" of the song "New Day" Retrieved 7/1/2010.
17. « Kylie's Bono Moment Retrieved 7/1/2010.
18. Barile, L.A. (28 March 2003). PASSAGES: Jennifer Lopez's Latest Duet. People. Retrieved 7/1/2010.
19. « Williams, L. (2006) Michael Hutchence's Brother Praises Kylie And Bono for their discretion and respect 8/15/2006. Retrieved 7/1/2010.
20. « Christianity Today March, 2003 Bono's American Prayer Retrieved 7/1/2010.

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• Bono (Speaker). (2005). Interview with J. Wenner. Bono: The Rolling Stone Interview. Rolling Stone, New York, New York.
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• Bono. (2006, February). Remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast. Speech presented at Hilton Washington Hotel at Washington, D.C.
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