The Standard September 5, 2026
Throughout her lifetime my maternal grandmother was called “Dolly.” A particularly proper and polished English and drama teacher from Ohio, it seemed unusual that when Dolly Parton broke onto the country music scene in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Grandma loved her.
Parton died last week, a philanthropist, singer, actress, and businesswoman with two Academy Awards, 11 Grammys, six Golden Globes, and a Tony to her name. The Recording Industry Association of American regards 21 of her singles and albums as Gold or Platinum. Twenty-five Parton songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and she had 42 top-10 country albums. She made four gospel albums and in 2019 recorded “There was Jesus” with Zach Williams and “God Only Knows” with For King and Country. Probably more striking than these accolades are her initiatives like the Imagination Library through the Dollywood Foundation, which have helped millions of children develop a love for reading. Parton did not shy away from speaking about her own humble, Christian background.
In 2018 Dolly told AL.com, “That faith I had when I was a child has helped me right through everything right now.” “My grandpa was a preacher, a Pentecostal preacher. My daddy’s people were Baptist. So, I’ll have a little chapel in all my places. I have a place where I grew up, and I call it the ‘Bapticostal’ chapel. I just believe that there’s a God. I believe that God helps me, leads me.” “I talk to him every day” “My faith is very important. I do believe that through God all things are possible. I do believe that Jesus loves me. And I just use that. I’m never ashamed of my family. I’m never ashamed of my religion. I’m not trying to cram it down anyone else’s throat. I just thing everybody’s got to have something to believe in.”
In an interview with The Christian Post in 2019 Dolly said, “Every day I pray for God to lead me and to take out all the wrong things, wrong people in my life, and bring all the right things, right people, and to let me glorify Him and uplift mankind, to do something in this world to make it a little better than it was… and let me be a light and a vessel to be used.”
Dolly Parton was no stranger to criticism from Christians regarding her typical wardrobe choices, a few movie roles, as well as her failure to articulate certain biblical truths. It is a very good thing to arrive at sound theology from deep Bible study, but it is also a very good thing to extend the love of Christ. From the sounds of it, Parton exuded graciousness, generosity, and love. Trusting in Jesus is what saves us; believing or articulating right theology does not.
Appropriately, today’s Bible Gateway’s verse of the day is from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. Here it is in context: “‘Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.’ Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’” John 6:27-29
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