Religion/ Spirituality

Casey Kasem wanted to be buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in L.A. because he felt that was his path to reincarnation ... this according to his longtime friend and security guard.

Rick Hernandez says he worked as the Executive Security Officer for Casey and his family for years, and became one of the famed DJ's closest friends.

Hernandez wrote a letter to the judge in the case Casey's daughter filed to bring her dad's body back from Norway, where it's been rotting since August.

Hernandez says in the letter ... one day he asked Casey if he believed in God or the afterlife. He says Casey responded ... he believed in reincarnation. Hernandez asked if he planned to be cremated or buried, and Kasem responded that he wanted to be buried and specified Forest Lawn.

The letter wasn't enough to sway the judge, who ruled Kerri had no authority to undermine Casey's wife Jean, who has kept the body in a Norway mortuary for 3 months.

But Andrew's calling BS, telling TMZ he's copyrighted the song ... and says it's his voice and only he -- not even God -- can claim ownership of it.

So maybe the dispute will be settled by a higher power -- Judge Judy.

The man who almost broke the Internet for screaming, "I'm not gay no more" has a new moneymaker ... a musical version of his anti-penile mantra that he's hawking on iTunes.

Andrew Caldwell's vow -- in front of 40,000 people at the Church of God in Christ's Holy Convocation Convention in St. Louis -- is now heavily auto-tuned, with backup vocals and plenty of catchy beats.

He'll impress the ladies for sure ... as he's already sold more than 200 copies.

Can Broadway be next?

Justin Bieber is on a self-proclaimed "mission" to learn how to spread the word of God.

Bieber is ensconced in Rancho Mirage outside Palm Springs, where he will spend 2 weeks with a pastor. This Biebs has flirted with religion in the past ... as TMZ first reported he was baptized this past summer in a NYC bathtub.

Bieber has exiled himself from friends, alcohol, weed and everything else that doesn't involve the good Lord.

It's unclear if Biebs will take the next step and become a full-blown proselytizer.

Check out this pic we got of Bieber Monday in Rancho Mirage ... the book by his side is "Occupy All Streets," which teaches how to spread the word and resist bad temptations.

See you in two weeks, Lil Twist!

Nicki Minaj is incredulous people think she hates Jews -- even though her music video plays like a Nazi anthem -- because she made it with the help of Alex ... her new Jewish guy.

Minaj was defiant Monday as she arrived at LAX, cursing photogs who dared to ask her about all the Nazi-esque imagery in the lyric video for "Only."

Minaj also said on Twitter Tuesday both the producer and the person in charge of the video are Jewish. She said the inspiration for the video came from the Adult Swim show "Metalocalypse" and the movie "Sin City."

Nicki then apologized, saying, "I didn't come up w/the concept, but I'm very sorry & take full responsibility if it has offended anyone. I'd never condone Nazism in my art."

NFL legend Terry Bradshaw tells TMZ Sports he doesn't believe Justin Bieber jinxed the Pittsburgh Steelers ... but he does have an issue with JB at the team prayer service the night before the game.

As you know ... the Steelers lost to the lowly NY Jets this weekend -- and a lot of people are blaming the "Justin Bieber Curse" since he joined the team for a pregame prayer ceremony Saturday night.

"It's automatically assumed he's a jinx," Bradshaw says. "That's ridiculous."

But it's what Bradshaw said next that was interesting ... "Would Bieber be a disruption? Well, I wouldn't have had him there."

"The only time I recall the Steelers teams I played on letting outsiders worship with us was at the Super Bowl ... and it was with our families because they traveled with us."

Bradshaw says he takes his bible study very seriously -- and believes the purpose of a private prayer ceremony for NFL teams is to keep the focus on god.

So, when a huge megastar like Bieber walks in the room ... "Your focus isn't where it should be."

“Orange is the New Black” star Lea DeLaria went off on a religious fanatic on an NYC subway -- and the woman known as Big Boo got really loud about it.

But beyond the yelling and religious debating, the biggest takeaway from this video is ... we finally learned how to get to “Sesame Street."

"Orange Is the New Black" star Lea DeLaria went off the rails on the train in NYC Tuesday morning ... verbally attacking a Bible-thumper who was holding commuters hostage to his rants.

DeLaria (aka Big Boo) was on the train when the proselytizer began preaching at ear-piercing levels. The actress stood up in her "Bad Jew" T and schooled the guy, distracting commuters intently Instagraming, Twittering and Candy Crushing.

But the preacher guy fought back ... eventually referencing Sodom and Gomorrah and "the sin of homosexuality." At that point Lea, who is openly gay, throws her hands up and just loses it on the guy.

As for where DeLaria was headed ... she apparently took the train to "Sesame Street."

A girl's family claims she became possessed by demons after visiting a house owned by "Ghost Adventures" star Zak Bagans ... and she had to be exorcised.

The house has had documented incidents of paranormal activity. As we first reported ... a family fled the home after claiming they were terrorized by demons.

Zak convinced different former residents to return to the home for a new documentary ... and as soon as they began filming, demonic activity surfaced. The mother claimed someone kicked her when no one was around. And there were other incidents as well.

A few days later, the daughter began having violent outbursts ... threatening to hurt herself and others. Zak says the girl's family witnessed her speaking in tongues ... exhibiting signs of demonic possession.

Zak claims they brought the girl to a Catholic priest, who performed an exorcism. He recorded the ritual on video. Zak says the girl is now back to her old self.

The documentary was put on ice while everyone dealt with the daughter, and now Zak says he'll return to the house in December ... to finish the film.

Notre Dame may not want its players banging before marriage, but it will NOT suspend Justin Brent for "dating" porn star Lisa Ann ... TMZ Sports has learned.

A Notre Dame football spokesman says the freshman wide receiver will escape any punishment -- and will suit up for the Navy game this weekend. He added Coach Brian Kelly met with Brent when he got back to campus ... and it's no longer an issue.

It may sound strange, but sources connected with the university tell us Brent did nothing wrong. The official university stance is that students "may be subject" to punishment if they have premarital sex ... but there's no public proof Brent and the legendary "Nailin' Palin" star banged.

We're told administrators did question Brent about a leaked photo (rated PG) of him in bed with LA ... but since he had nothing to do with it getting out, there's no issue. ND officials merely warned Brent to be careful because he represents the university -- a.k.a. be smart about what you post on social media.

Ray Rice and his wife Janay are fully aware of the Ray Rice costumes that have been surfacing this Halloween -- and they're telling friends they're simply praying for the people mocking them.

You've seen the pics -- people dressed up as Ray dragging around an inflatable Janay in an effort to lampoon the infamous elevator attack.

We've spoken with friends and family members close to Ray and Janay who tell us ... the couple is dealing with the unwanted attention by turning to religion.

One source tells us Ray and Janay have said they are "praying for those people."

As we previously reported, Ray and Janay have been extremely involved with their church since the incident ... and were both baptized in March when they decided to become born again Christians.

We're also told Ray and Janay are still committed to the marriage -- and have vowed to maintain their family and rebuild their lives together.

Sinead O'Connor says she's got proof AMA producers wanted her to stand alongside Pope Francis during their upcoming show ... and claims anyone saying otherwise is full of crap!

We broke the story ... an American Music Awards source told us Sinead's recent rant against them was ridiculous -- because they never discussed a Pope appearance. But O'Connor says that's BS.

TMZ obtained emails between Sinead's management team and her record label ... clearly referring to a discussion they had with AMA staff about appearing alongside the Pope.

Sinead's manager claims when he asked who producers were trying to snag for the show ... the record label rep said, "Take a deep breath ... Pope Francis. No joke."

It appears Sinead's position is that the AMAs wanted her essentially for a stunt ... to bring her and the Pope together on the stage, given the backdrop of beef the singer had with the Pontiff.

American Music Awards sources are saying they never wanted Sinead O'Connor to stand alongside Pope Francis on their show ... they say she was the one pushing for the appearance.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ ... it was actually HER team who contacted the AMAs ... but having Sinead end her Pope beef during the show was NEVER discussed.

We're told show producers were interested in Sinead being on the show ... but they say her claims about the Pope -- which she made on her blog -- are ridiculous and a tweet was never sent.

Sources say producers feel Sinead's been spewing BS for decades, so this rant is nothing new. More importantly ... we're told she will absolutely not be appearing on the award show now.

Sinead famously ripped apart a photo of Pope John Paul II during her 1992 performance on "Saturday Night Live" ... which got her banned from the show for life.

Jewish NY Knicks star Amar'e Stoudemire says he'll be fasting for Yom Kippur when the sun goes down tonight ... and won't eat all day tomorrow ... despite the fact he's in the middle of NBA training camp.

Stoudemire just went to Instagram and posted ... "Day of Atonement !! Sundown tonight - Sundown tomorrow."

He added, "This is going to be the hardest one yet. No eating or drinking during camp."

It's kind of a big deal, considering the Knicks have been busting their asses during the training sessions ... and Stoudemire has vowed to refrain from nourishing himself after the brutal workouts.

FYI -- Amar'e's decision comes almost 49 years ... to the day ... from when Sandy Koufax famously decided to NOT pitch in a World Series game to observe the Jewish Holiday.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson says he was a violent bully as a child -- and often beat up other kids BADLY -- but says he learned to curb his violent tendencies and says it's time other NFL stars did too.

Wilson just penned an article for ThePlayersTribune.com -- in an effort to address the domestic violence issues in the NFL.

In the article, Wilson writes:

"I used to beat people up. Truthfully, I used to beat people up a lot. Many of you readers probably think I have been Mr. Goody Two-Shoes my whole life, but honestly, I was a bully growing up. In elementary and middle school, I threw kids against the wall. I rubbed their heads in the dirt at recess. I bit them. I even knocked teeth out."

Long story short, Wilson says he found God and learned to confine his "aggressive behaviors" to the field. He's asking people to donate to the National Domestic Violence Hotline to support dom. violence victims across the country.

He concludes ...

The largest Muslim organization in North America says it's offering "sensitivity training" to the NFL after a Muslim player was penalized for striking a Muslim prayer pose during Monday Night Football.

TMZ Sports spoke with a rep for Islamic Society of North America who tells us they were shocked when Kansas City Chiefs player Husain Abdullah was flagged after dropping to his knees following a pick 6 in the 4th quarter.

The NFL has since issued a statement admitting the ref botched the call -- and ISNA says it "appreciates the NFL in backtracking and making the right call."

ISNA says it originally believed the penalty was a "double standard" -- especially with Tim Tebow's famous kneeling celebration in the past going unflagged.

"Husain is a big hero in the Muslim American community ... we thought it was unfortunate."

But ISNA says they want to work WITH the NFL to make sure it doesn't happen again -- saying, "We are happy to educate the NFL with competency or sensitivity training."