Religion wound up being a deciding factor for Tayshia Adams when it came to picking the winner of her season of The Bachelorette, but how will religion impact who Matt James dates on his season of The Bachelor? "My views are my own and I would never force that on somebody, especially with those views being different within my family," James told Entertainment Tonight on Jan. 5. "My brother and I have completely different religious beliefs, and I don’t love him any less. I would never want that to be something that kept me from being with somebody."

While he doesn’t seem to care whether or not his future wife shares his religious beliefs, he told Glamour that he does hope that they can at least understand where he’s coming from. "I’m just speaking for myself, but it wouldn’t be something that would keep me from exploring a relationship with somebody," he explained. "It’s more so them understanding where I go to for my inner peace, and what are the foundational building blocks of relationship and life for me. It’s never been something that I’ve used against somebody or would exclude somebody from being a potential person that I’d want to be with. It’s more so them getting to know me, and what better way than for them to see where I go to for my strength, especially in a stressful environment. [Prayer is how I] recenter myself."

Attempting to "recenter" himself was exactly what was happening when James chose to lead a prayer upon entering the first cocktail party of his season. "First and foremost, I was extremely nervous. I was shaking walking up there. I wanted Chris to walk me inside and he left me," he jokingly told Entertainment Tonight. "So, I’m just walking in there and whenever I’m feeling that type of way or anxious I’m just like, ‘Man, let me pray about this.’ And that’s what I did."

He continued, "it put me at ease, and I’m hoping that the women saw that. I just wanted them to see where I go to in my times of anguish and when I’m stressed out, so that’s what that was."

Here’s to hoping James finds a woman who’s cool with his spirituality this season of The Bachelor.

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