Exclusive: 'Vampire' Author Anne Rice Explains Why She Abandoned Catholicism & the Bible

Author Anne Rice is known for her fascinating literary works. Her first novel, "Interview With a Vampire," published in 1976, went on to be a smash hit and a number of her books, including "Interview" were adapted for the big screen. I recently spoke with Rice, 70, about her decades-long career, her passion for writing, social media (she's a huge fan) and, most interestingly, her journey from atheism to Catholicism to -- an ambiguous faith standing.

While it was intriguing to hear Rice discuss her new book, "The Wolf Gift" (coming out on Feb. 14), her highly-successful career and her penchant for connecting with fans on social media (she has 569,865 "likes" on Facebook -- and counting), it was her faith journey that was most captivating.

Knowing that Rice had announced her faith -- then rescinded her Catholicism -- religion was the main focus of our discussion. What was, perhaps, most striking was her ability, despite her stated confusion over her current faith views, to be open and honest. In addition to sharing candid opinions, she showed confidence in her uncertainty.

For most of her adult years, the famed author was an atheist. At the age of 18, she dismissed God's existence as a fallacy and didn't change her mind until later in life. It was then in 1998 that Rice became a Catholic, surrounding herself with statues, artwork Bibles and other religious symbols. The process from non-believer to Christian adherent, she says, was a gradual one. One day, after researching and reading extensively, she finally realized that she believed wholeheartedly in God.

"I was in New Orleans and I was doing a lot of research on the Jews in history and I was so impressed with the spirituality of the Jews -- the face that they still exist today," she explains. "I fell in love with all of that and I began to see God in history. I'm not sure there's evidence now of God in history."

This last line was intriguing. After studying the Jews and recognizing their historical significance and interconnectedness with a Higher Power, Rice has since abandoned such a notion.

In 2010, after 12 solid years as a believer, she announced her departure from the Catholic Church. "Today I quit being a Christian," she wrote on her Facebook page, going on to call Christians, as a collective, a "quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious and deservedly infamous" group. These words were surprising to many journalists, especially considering that they were coming from a woman who had so openly embraced the faith.

Here she is in a CBN interview just months before leaving Catholicism behind:

During our exchange, I asked her to explain her harsh 2010 characterization of Christians. In addition to voicing concerns with the way in which Christians treat various groups, Rice went on to say that she cannot allow herself to believe that every human being deserves hell, calling such a belief "monstrous."

"When I walked away [from the faith], I was rejecting the whole thing. It was the whole system of Christian belief -- that a remnant of people would be saved from the fire," she said. "I don't believe the God of the universe would create a place called 'hell.'"

Considering her hard-hitting departure and the rejection of the core beliefs she held dear, I asked if there was a specific breaking point that led her away from the church. At the heart of the matter was her personal distaste for the church's teaching on abortion and gay marriage, among other issues -- something she said was difficult for her from the start of her initial conversion.

"I had already come to realize that I didn't believe in the theological underpinnings of the Christian system," Rice explained. "I could have kept quiet and kept going to church if it had not been for the pressure exerted by things the Catholic Church was doing."

Among these "things," Rice cited the infamous pedophilia scandal and what she saw as a massive coverup. She maintained that "the conduct of the hierarchy was absolutely shameful."

"There was a total disregard for American law...shifting priests rather than stopping them for what they were doing," she continued. "The Catholics have done everything they can to confuse the issue publicly. They've even stooped to level of saying priests don't abuse more than anyone else."

To this point, Rice said that the church should have "a zero number of abusers" and that such an insinuation -- that priests aren't any more likely than the general public to engage in molestation -- was a poor defense at best.

But her reasons for leaving the church extended far beyond the sex-abuse scandal. Another issue that ate away at her was the church's handling of homosexuals, as the famed author went on to say that the Catholic church "scapegoats gays."

"The other thing was the relentless persecution of gay people...the vilifying of gay people," she said. "The Catholic Church doesn't recognize anybody's civil marriage and here they were coming out of their churches to stop gay people from civil marriages."

She also went on to cite the case of Sister Margaret McBride, a Catholic nun and hospital administrator who was excommunicated by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted after she authorized an abortion to help save a woman's life at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. This, for Rice, was the proverbial "icing on the cake."

"[The sick woman] was a mother of four children and she was dying in a fatal pregnancy. [The bishop] truly wanted that woman to be abandoned with that fetus," Rice explained. "My disgust with Roman Catholicism just reached its max so I left."

This, of course, led me to ask about her opinions about abortion -- an issue that continues to be at the core of socio-political debate. While she expressed her wish that women would have their children rather than opt for abortion, she said that she doesn't support laws that would criminalize a woman's right to choose. She went on to rail against many in the pro-life movement who have stood firmly opposed to abortion procedures.

"[Those opposed to abortion] don't support contraceptive information. They've started a war on Planned Parenthood," she said. "I can't quite believe they're really all that concerned with human life. They're too blind to the lives of woman involved -- there's a focus on the unborn that seems disingenuous."

So, all this considered, where does that leave Rice today? She remains "committed to Christ." When asked what, exactly, that means in practice, she attempted to explain:

"Everyday, I'm asking myself that, because my faith in the Christian belief system totally collapsed. I realized a lot of what I believed about Jesus was rooted in lies and falsehoods. What I've tried to preserve is a love for and a trust in God. Jesus coming here is the most beautiful love story I've ever heard.

I know I feel a palpable God -- with a human face. I can't really tell another person what I believe that is. I believe that there is a maker of the universe that knows every hair on our head -- and has made this entire universe and is very aware of us and I hope and pray this maker of the universe loves us and -- and I think he does."

She characterized her current faith walk as "a state of confusion," which, regardless of whether one agrees with her assessment of Christianity, is a bold and transparent admission.

As for the Bible, Rice no longer views it as something that should be read literally and she claims that "the maker of the universe [wouldn't] write everything down in [only] two languages in one part of the world."

Considering these changes, Rice says she's still looking for ways through which she can worship God. She says worshipping with others is a beautiful experience, but she has serious reservations -- obviously -- with associating herself with specific churches.

Rice's faith is something that, much like her writing, has gone through intense transformation. Her formerly staunch Christians views have now dissipated, as she seeks to swim through spiritual uncertainty on a search for greater meaning.