Chris Stapleton Religion

What religion is Chris Stapleton?

Chris Stapleton is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who is a Christian. He was raised in a Christian household in Kentucky and has been connected to church from a young age, including regular Sunday attendance. An evangelist who met him and his wife Morgane reports that when asked if he considered himself a Christian, Stapleton replied, “Yeah,” adding context about his dad eventually joining them at church. Stapleton has been grouped with artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Ella Langley, whose faith influences their life and art.

Chris Stapleton began performing after moving to Nashville in 2001, initially finding success as an elite songwriter for other artists while fronting the bluegrass band The SteelDrivers. His unpretentious style and big voice quickly gained industry traction, and after writing several massive hits for country stars, he built a loyal fan base through constant touring and industry respect. His 2015 debut solo single featured “Traveller,” a song that would change the trajectory of his career, eventually earning him widespread mainstream attention and a legendary breakout performance at the CMA Awards.

In 2015, Stapleton released his debut album “Traveller,” which spent an unprecedented amount of time atop the country albums chart and produced a run of iconic tracks, including “Parachute,” “Nobody to Blame,” and his multi-platinum cover of “Tennessee Whiskey.” The latter became one of his signature hits, making history as the first country song ever certified double-diamond by the RIAA, and helped establish his reputation as a dominant force in modern music. His follow-up companion albums, “From A Room: Volume 1” and “Volume 2,” continued that momentum, debuting at number one on the Country Albums charts and spawning hits such as “Broken Halos,” “Either Way,” and “Millionaire.”

Known for his authenticity, vocal power, and work ethic, Stapleton has earned 11 Grammy Awards, 11 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, and 15 Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. In addition, he was named the ACM’s Artist-Songwriter of the Decade in September 2019

Early Life and Education

Chris Stapleton was born on April 15, 1978, in Lexington, Kentucky. He is the son of American parents, Carol J. Mace and Herbert Joseph Stapleton Jr., and he has an older brother named Herbert Joseph III and a younger sister, Melanie Brooke. His mother worked at a local health department, and his father was an engineer and coal miner hailing from Logan, West Virginia. Before starting his career in music, Stapleton attended Johnson Central High School, where he played football and graduated as his class valedictorian. In 1996, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend the prestigious Vanderbilt University, where he enrolled in the engineering department to pursue a biomedical engineering degree. However, he ultimately dropped out of college and signed a publishing contract with Sea Gayle Music to kickstart what would become a legendary career.

Early career

After signing with Nashville Publishing Company in 2001, Stapleton became one of the industry’s most successful behind-the-scenes songwriters. Over the next decade and a half, Stapleton wrote more than 1,000 songs and accumulated credits on over 170 cuts recorded by other artists. He scored his first Billboard number-one hit with Josh Turner’s “Your Man” in 2006, followed by massive chart-toppers like Kenny Chesney’s “Never Wanted Nothing More,” George Strait’s “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright,” and Luke Bryan’s “Drink a Beer.”

In 2007, Stapleton joined the bluegrass band the SteelDrivers as lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter. He spent three years with the group, where he earned three Grammy Award nominations before he departed in 2010. That same year he co-founded the blues-influenced southern rock band the Jompson Brothers alongside guitarist Greg McKee, bassist J.T. Cure, and drummer Bard McNamee. In 2013, Stapleton signed with Mercury Nashville as a solo recording artist.

Solo Albums and Breakout Stardom

Stapleton launched his solo career with his landmark 2015 debut album, Traveller. The album was recorded at the historic RCA Studio A in Nashville with producer Dave Cobb. His career reached a historic turning point following a viral, show-stopping performance with Justin Timberlake at the 2015 CMA Awards. The record features his legendary cover of “Tennessee Whiskey,” which made history as the first country track ever to be certified double-diamond by the RIAA. Within days, Traveller rocketed to number one on the Billboard 200 and the country albums chart simultaneously, and Stapleton won all three of his nominated categories that night, including winning Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, and New Artist of the Year. The album went on to win Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards and Album of the Year at the 2016 ACM Awards, and has since spent over 500 weeks on the Billboard 200.

Working again with Cobb, Stapleton released the following albums:

• From A Room: Volume 1 & Volume 2 (2017): Released in two parts, these back-to-back projects debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. The album featured fan favorites “Broken Halos” and “Either Way” and won Album of the Year at both the 2017 CMA Awards and the 2018 ACM Awards, along with the Grammy for Best Country Album.
• Starting Over (2020): This Grammy-winning album featured legendary rock instrumentation from Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. It peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and landed on virtually every major year-end best albums list. Starting Over won the Grammy for Best Country Album at the 2022 ceremony and earned Stapleton CMA Male Vocalist of the Year honors for a record-extending run.
• Higher (2023): His fifth studio masterpiece was released in November 2023 through Mercury Nashville, co-produced by Stapleton and Dave Cobb and featuring the lead single “White Horse.” Higher won Album of the Year at the 2024 CMA Awards, and “White Horse” won Best Country Solo Performance at the 67th Grammy Awards in February 2025, bringing Stapleton’s total Grammy count to 11 and his CMA wins to 19.

Beyond the Solo Albums

Stapleton has frequently worked as a songwriter for and with other artists and has written or co-written numerous hits in this capacity. His credits include recording the hit single “Blow” with Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars, being featured on Taylor Swift’s vault track “I Bet You Think About Me,” and adding backing vocals to Adele’s alternate version of “Easy on Me.” He also regularly partners with legendary rock musicians, performing on tracks with Tom Morello, Santana, and Slash. More recently, he teamed up with Mumford & Sons on the hit track “Here.” He also briefly appeared as an extra in an episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Beyond studio collaborations, in February 2023, Stapleton delivered a widely praised rendition of the national anthem at Super Bowl LVII in Arizona and partnered with Snoop Dogg to record the official theme song for Monday Night Football. Furthermore, he has scheduled a headlining performance alongside The Smashing Pumpkins for America250’s massive “America’s Block Party Concert” benefit event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Personal life

Chris Stapleton has been in a relationship with Morgane Hayes since 2003, while both were working as songwriters at adjacent publishing houses on Nashville’s Music Row. The couple married in Tennessee in October 2007. Stapleton and Morgane have four sons and a daughter together: Waylon, Ada, and then twin sons Macon and Samuel. Despite Chris’s massive international fame, the couple remains intentionally fiercely protective of their children’s privacy.

Outside of parenting and music, Chris is a passionate vehicle enthusiast and collector. Following the death of his father in 2013, Morgane bought him a vintage Jeep to clear his head, sparking a therapeutic cross-country road trip that directly inspired the vibe and title track of his breakout debut album, Traveller. Stapleton has also channeled his personal love for Southern heritage into business, partnering with Buffalo Trace Distillery to release his own signature bourbon line, Traveller Whiskey.

On the philanthropy side, Chris and Morgane co-founded Outlaw State of Kind in 2016, a charitable fund administered by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee that supports a wide range of causes close to their hearts. The fund has distributed over 150 grants since its inception. The couple, alongside Tyler Childers and Dwight Yoakam, has raised over $2.9 million for flood relief that hit Eastern Kentucky in 2022.

Real estate

Chris and Morgane Stapleton, in March 2017, purchased a $5.6 million 311-acre property near Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. Before the ranch, the couple owned a home in the Nashville area. They purchased it in April 2010 for $580,000 and sold it in January 2017 for $950,000 after a solid profit with Traveller.