Caleb McLaughlin may be best known to millions of viewers for his role as Lucas Sinclair on Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things, but the actor says fame was never meant to be the foundation of his life. Instead, he says faith is what grounds him, and it is a subject he is increasingly willing to speak about publicly.
During a recent appearance on the “Podcrushed” podcast, McLaughlin spoke candidly about God, prayer and why his Christian faith has become central as he steps fully into adulthood after spending much of his youth in the global spotlight.
“I’m not just spiritual, I’m religious.”
When the conversation turned personal, McLaughlin was direct.
“I’m not just spiritual, I’m religious,” he said, rejecting language he believes often obscures real conviction.
Faith, he explained, has been present since childhood. “My dad is a reverend actually. So I grew up in the — yeah, I’m a PK kid,” he said.
He was quick to clarify that belief was never forced on him. “He didn’t force … religion or church on me or God on me,” McLaughlin said. “He would go to church. He would ask us if we wanted to go to church. And [if] we didn’t want to go to church, he wouldn’t force us to.”
That approach, he said, allowed faith to become personal rather than obligatory.
“I kind of found my own relationship with God and … even my faith … this year,” he said.
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A deeper walk with God
McLaughlin said he has always felt a connection with God, but adulthood brought a clearer understanding of how easily spiritual habits can fade amid pressure and distraction.
“I’ve always felt a connection with God in my … my spirit,” he said. “But I think there’s a different level to it.”
He described seasons where prayer became routine or sporadic. “Sometimes … you live your life and you kind of like get into the world a little bit and then you … kind of stop praying sometimes,” he said.
Eventually, he said, that distance becomes impossible to ignore.
“You have those moments like, ‘Wait, I need to pray and talk to God, sit down and like ground yourself,’” McLaughlin said.
That realization led to intentional changes in his daily life. “I went to church a lot with my family. And I deleted Instagram and got off social media and just started … grounding myself a little bit more and talking to God more,” he said.
“It’s been really replenishing,” he added.
Faith over validation
McLaughlin framed faith as an anchor against the constant pull of approval and opinion.
“Sometimes you get so caught up in … relying on worldly desires of just like people’s validation,” he said.
Prayer, he explained, restores clarity. “When you’re able to sit down and ground yourself and pray and knowing that God is listening … that’s like the foundation,” he said. “That’s what you can rely on any time of the year.”
He said that foundation matters most when navigating both praise and criticism. “I can’t rely on all the other voices or the good or the bad,” McLaughlin said. “I have to rely on how I feel about myself and how I think about myself and focus on God honestly.”
Beyond the platform
Although McLaughlin rose to prominence as a teenager on a Netflix phenomenon, he made clear that his identity has never been rooted in a character, a franchise or public perception.
“Having … that spiritual foundation, having God in my life is the only thing … I keep my eye on,” he said.
When jokingly asked about prayer and opportunity, his response was simple. “I pray — pray for everybody. Pray for everyone,” he said.
McLaughlin does not posture or soften his language. He talks about God the same way he talks about anything else that truly matters to him, plainly and without apology. That kind of honesty carries weight when it comes from someone with a global audience.
Our prayer is that his confidence gives others permission to stop diluting their convictions, to speak openly about what they believe, and to point their audiences not to themselves, but to Jesus Christ and the gospel that changed them.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
