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For the first time in his life, Noah Lyles opened up on his faith, religion, and how he grew up in a 'cult'.
Olympic 100m gold medallist Noah Lyles revealed an intimate part of his childhood, which involved growing up in a "cult", religion, and how his mum still struggles to trust churches.
The American track star who has been an object of criticism this year, especially since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, spoke about religion for the first time in an episode of the Everybody Wants to Be Us podcast.
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“I actually grew up in a cult,” said Lyles and continued, “It was a cult. It just wasn’t at the level of, ‘Yeah, okay. We’re gonna drink the Kool-Aid.' "
"But it was super strict," the six-time world champion revealed.
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According to Lyles, the group demanded that all moms "had to be homeschooling their kids" and the accepted shared belief was that "the father was the head of the household," he added.
"The church told you who you could date, who you couldn’t date," and all marriages were required to go "through" the church. "That type of behavior."
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Lyles revealed further that because his family couldn't affirm with their doctrines, they moved to another state only to be faced with the same religious teachings.
"And we left and that's why we went to North Carolina," the Olympian explained, "only to figure out they wanted to do the same thing."
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"So, we left that, but that kind of really messed up my view of church and it definitely messed up my mom’s view," he said.
These made his mum skeptical about trusting churches, but her values and faith in religion in navigating life never wavered.
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"And even now, she still struggles to trust churches in general, but she never lost her faith in the religion and I think instilled that in us," he said of his mother. "It made it easier for me to go throughout my own journey."
Lyles credited his mom's strength and her faith in "asking" to be tested in life. "When I was young, she said, 'When you lack faith, ask for a test and he will provide the test.' "
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