It might be cliché, but it’s true: There’s a plan for everything, including praying to God.
One such app is Hallow, a popular Catholic prayer subscription service that has been downloaded by millions of users, including the partners of celebrities like Gwen Stefani.
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Stefani was a partner of the Hallow app last year, but it was only recently that the social media promotion got enough attention to get fans and other celebrities. In Decec. 1 Instagram Post, the redoubtable singer re-connected the application at the beginning of this year’s advent period, urging fans to join him in their daily challenges. Following the answers, podcast host Matt Bernstein, reality TV star Chrishell Suse, and other social media analysts pointed out what Stefani did not: that many of the application’s prayer messages suggest a conservative agenda that covers conservation, including suggesting abortions to users.
Despite the possibility of a tied product – and a confusing change in the image of the singer who used “cool girl” – the user “Hallow-back” (as one red user “(as one red user called him) did not go back. Not only him.
What is the Hallow app?
Dubbed a “Pay-to-tall-pray” app by its critics, Hallow was developed in 2018 by founder and CEO Alex Jones (No, not that Alex Jones). The subscription-based app combines audio-guided prayer practices with “thinking” techniques and challenges, combined as a solution to everyday stress. It’s available for a monthly price of $9.99, or $69.99 for the year — there are family plans, too.
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Hallow or offers in partnership with schools, providing free subscriptions to students in religious institutions, and content for children and families. It runs commercials during the Super Bowl.
Jones is on record as saying that religious celebrities, including action stars like Mark Wahlberg and Chris Pratt and Hollywood icons like Mario Lopez, are ways to reach out to religious people “on social platforms that are very familiar. “They’re amazing Christians, great people of faith,” Jones said in a 2024 interview on the app Partner Stefani and Actor Kevin James. “It’s amazing for us to partner with them, to use their platforms to ask people to pray.”
Why the Hallow controversy?
Catholics alike, even those with more conservative beliefs, have been questioning the app’s model, marketing tactics, and celebrity endorsements since its launch. Jones was turned off by the relationship with the actor Liam Neeson, for example, after the decline of the Catholics rejected the view of Neeson. He was then criticized by major figures from the Catholic right, including anti-abortionist Lim Rose and Canon Propontent Jim Caviezel.
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In addition to Ambador’s controversies, including the partnership with Acceror Russell Brand that ended after accusations of sexual harassment, Hallow has been associated with significant numbers and conservative financial sponsors.
In 2024, the election reporting is The breadwinner It was discovered that Vice President JD Vence had invested tens of thousands of dollars in the app. Other notable funds include Peter Pieli who will work in the ultra-conservative Konpal Thiel, who participated in the $40 million Hallow funds in 2021.
Hallow was banned from EU markets earlier this year, with many lawyers allegedly blocking access to the app due to data privacy concerns. Sensitive data used for ad targeting, including religious affiliation, is heavily regulated under the EU Digital Services Act.
Following the promotion of Stefani and other Advent ads including Chris Pratt, Hallow climbed the charts of the Apple App Store, Jones celebrated in the latest X post. “It feels like God just started.”
