Every once in a while, we take a break from covering politics to cover something else…but always under the guiding principle that has governed this site since the very beginning, which is: Finding and Printing the TRUTH wherever we find it!
Sometimes that leads us into the world of finance…
Sometimes into entertainment…
And sometimes, like a few days ago, it leads us into the world of religion, where I told the Catholics they really should stop praying to Mary.
Actually, to be fair, I didn’t tell them that. I simply reported that this famous Pastor said that and he also called it a “gross act of idolatry”.
See here:
Famous Pastor Addresses Praying To Mary: “Gross Act of Idolatry”
But now I have to advance the story a bit, because every time I cover this topic the responses are absolutely FASCINATING!
I would say about 90% of people thank me for standing on this solid rock, Biblical principle, but about 10% of the people are extremely vocal, telling me every which way from Sunday that it’s ok to Pray to Mary.
Often times, they don’t even agree with each other, but every one of them has found some mental trick that they’ve latched onto about why it’s ok and even good for them to Pray To Mary.
I’ve seen them all, trust me….many times over.
But right now I wanted to address perhaps one of the most bizarre claims I sometimes hear in response to this topic, and that is that of course we can and should pray to Mary because she’s the “Queen of Heaven”.
Yes folks, they really say that.
Here is just one comment to prove I’m not making this up:
So ok, I’ll bite…
You got me!
You want me to read that article and respond? I’m in!
I’ll sum up the argument for you in case you’re not familiar with it….
First of all, understand that this title mostly stems from Pope Pius XII in 1954.
Yes, you read that right. About 70 years ago. Not Bible times, not first or second century. About 70 years ago.
And the theory mainly goes that Solomon had a “Queen Seat” established in his Royal Palace which honored his mother, and so if Jesus is in the royal lineage of David and Solomon then of course we should give him a Queen too and make it his mother! When you strip out all the colorful and fluffy language, that’s the entire basis of the argument.
The very first written use could potentially be only as early as the 7th century and not formally adopted by the Catholic Church until 1954:
1. No “Queen of Heaven” for Mary in the Early Church (1st–3rd centuries)
The earliest Christians honored Mary as the Mother of Jesus and Theotokos (“God-bearer”), but they did not call her Queen of Heaven.
Their focus was almost entirely on Christ, His resurrection, and His return.
2. Development of Marian Titles (4th–7th centuries)
In 431 A.D., the Council of Ephesus officially affirmed Mary as Theotokos (Mother of God).
From that point on, Marian devotion began to expand, especially in the Eastern Church.
Hymns began to honor her as exalted above women and as an intercessor, but the “Queen” language was still developing, not yet “Queen of Heaven.”
3. First Clear Uses of “Queen” for Mary (6th century onward)
Around the 6th century, Eastern hymns began to refer to Mary as “Lady” and “Queen,” drawing from the biblical imagery of the queen mother in Israel (e.g., Bathsheba, mother of Solomon, in 1 Kings 2:19).
The title “Queen of Heaven” specifically appears in Latin writings by the 7th century, as Marian devotion spread in the West.
4. Medieval Expansion (11th–15th centuries)
By the 11th century, the title “Queen of Heaven” became widely used in Catholic Europe.
Hymns like the Salve Regina (“Hail, Holy Queen”) became standard.
By this time, Mary was routinely depicted in art with a crown, seated in heaven beside Christ.
5. Official Catholic Recognition
Pope Pius XII, in 1954, formally established the feast of the Queenship of Mary, officially recognizing her as Queen of Heaven and Earth in Catholic teaching.
So that’s your timeline for those who were wondering.
But there’s a ton more…
Before I get into more hard research on the topic, let’s just discuss some logical, common sense questions.
The Queen is married to the King, right?
So it’s very weird to make Mary the “Queen” of Heaven. She is not married to Jesus. She was his mother here on Earth.
Ok, so it’s weird and cringey right off the bat, but let’s go to the second weird point…anointing a “Queen of Heaven” seems like a pretty big deal, right?
If God was going to make someone the “Queen of Heaven” don’t you think he might have mentioned that in the Bible?
But of course the Bible says nothing of it.
Actually, I have to take that back, that’s not entirely true.
The Bible says nothing about Mary being the “Queen of Heaven” or anything even remotely close. It’s just not in there.
But oddly enough, almost as if God knew this would become an issue later on, the Bible DOES reference the “Queen of Heaven”.
Did you know that?
The only problem is the “Queen of Heaven” as clearly described in the Bible is a pagan goddess strongly condemned as evil.
UH OH!!!!
And if you have any Biblical knowledge of the Old Testament, I bet you can guess which one. That’s right, Ishtar/Astarte/Ashtoreth. The same old “goddess” that has been around for centuries going by different names but always trying to steal the worship of the Israelites:
In the Bible, the phrase “Queen of Heaven” refers to a pagan goddess worshiped in the Ancient Near East, particularly by people in Judah who had fallen into idolatry. Most scholars identify her with Ishtar (Babylonian), Astarte (Canaanite), or Ashtoreth (Phoenician)—all fertility goddesses linked to the moon, stars, love, and war.
The prophet Jeremiah strongly condemned this worship because it represented turning away from the one true God to idolatry. People would bake cakes, burn incense, and pour out drink offerings to her, provoking God’s anger.
Direct References to the “Queen of Heaven”
The phrase only appears in the Book of Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 7:18
“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.”
Jeremiah 44:17
“But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well off, and saw no trouble.”
Jeremiah 44:18
“But since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.”
Jeremiah 44:19
“The women also said, ‘And when we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ approval?'”
Meaning in Context
Idolatry in Judah: The people of Judah, especially women, were participating in this goddess worship as part of a widespread cultural practice borrowed from neighboring nations.
False Security: They claimed that life was better when they honored her, even though this was rebellion against God.
God’s Judgment: Jeremiah warned that such idolatry would bring God’s judgment on Jerusalem and its people (fulfilled in the Babylonian exile).
✅ Summary:
The “Queen of Heaven” is a pagan goddess (likely Ishtar/Astarte/Ashtoreth). The Bible condemns her worship as idolatry. All explicit references are found in Jeremiah 7:18 and Jeremiah 44:17–19.
Ok, so let’s recap…
The Bible never gives Mary the title “Queen of Heaven”.
The Bible does speak of the “Queen of Heaven” and strongly condemns it as a pagan goddess.
The very first use of the phrase tying it to Mary was in the 7th century A.D. and not formally adopted by the Catholic Church until 1954.
And making Mary the “Queen” of Heaven strongly implies she is married to Jesus, and that’s just weird and wrong.
But this is what Catholics tell me in the comments section is their reason for why they should be Praying to Mary?
Really guys?
That’s really what you’re going to stake your claim on?
Oh my….
Now let’s take it one step further.
I always want to check my biases and make sure I’m not off-base so I asked ChatGPT if calling Mary the “Queen of Heaven” was idolatrous.
Here’s what it told me:
That’s a very important question, and it touches on both Catholic tradition and Biblical teaching. Let’s look at it carefully, separating what the Bible says from later church practice.
1. The Biblical Usage of “Queen of Heaven”
As I showed you, the only times the phrase “Queen of Heaven” appears in Scripture are in Jeremiah 7 and 44, where it refers to a pagan goddess (Ishtar/Astarte/Ashtoreth).
In those passages, God condemns the worship of the Queen of Heaven as idolatry.
Nowhere in the Bible is Mary ever given that title.
2. Mary’s Role in the Bible
Mary is honored uniquely as the mother of Jesus (the Messiah, Son of God).
She is called “blessed among women” (Luke 1:42) and praised for her faith (Luke 1:45).
However, when someone in Luke 11:27–28 cried out, “Blessed is the womb that bore You,” Jesus redirected the focus, saying, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”
The New Testament never presents Mary as a figure to be worshiped, prayed to, or enthroned in heaven.
3. Catholic Tradition of Mary as “Queen of Heaven”
Catholic theology calls Mary Queen of Heaven because she is the mother of Christ the King. The logic: if Jesus is King, Mary is His Queen Mother.
This title developed in later church history (not in the apostolic age) and is celebrated in Catholic prayers (e.g., Regina Caeli hymn, “Hail, Holy Queen”).
4. Is it Idolatry Biblically?
Yes, if Mary is given divine honor (worship, prayers that treat her as all-knowing, all-present, or a mediator equal to Christ), it would fit the Bible’s definition of idolatry (Exodus 20:3–5; 1 Timothy 2:5).
No, if Mary is simply honored as a faithful servant of God and mother of Jesus—the Bible does affirm that she is “blessed among women” (Luke 1:42).
But the title “Queen of Heaven” in Scripture is negative, always tied to pagan idolatry. That’s why many Protestants reject applying that title to Mary—it associates her with something God explicitly condemned.
✅ Conclusion
The Bible never calls Mary the “Queen of Heaven.”
The only “Queen of Heaven” in Scripture is a pagan goddess—and her worship is condemned.
Honoring Mary for her role in salvation history is Biblical (Luke 1).
Worshiping her or giving her the condemned title “Queen of Heaven” is not Biblical and leans into idolatry.
Ah, did you catch that in #2?
In Luke 11:27–28 when someone tries to elevate Mary’s status to put worship and praise on her, Jesus corrects them and shifts the focus: “Blessed is the womb that bore You,” Jesus redirected the focus, saying, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”
I think we’ve sufficiently handled this one.
If you want to continue Praying to Mary because she’s the “Queen of Heaven”, I can’t stop you. All I can do is shine light on the truth, and I think we’ve done that here in spades.
I’ll end by referencing one other common refrain…
Other than the (idolatrous and pagan) “Queen of Heaven” argument, another equally strange one is that Mary is proving herself to us all the time by appearing to humans in what are called “Marian Apparitions”.
They say Mary randomly appears to people as an “apparition” (fancy word for ghost) and makes strange predictions about the future.
They even believe Mary did one of these ghost appearances and predicted World War 2 and that’s why she’s proving herself real so of course we have to Pray to Mary!
In a word? YIKES.
If you want to base your theology and salvation on the idea that Mary is now doing ghost appearances and predicting the future rather than ANYTHING in the Bible, once again I can’t stop you but I can say that sounds like a really bad idea.
And what’s funny is all these people don’t necessarily even agree with each other.
The “Ghost Mary” people don’t always agree with the “Queen of Heaven Mary” people and vice-versa.
And these are only two common tropes I hear. There are dozens more.
But do you know what never gets discussed?
Jesus.
Oh the Catholics will talk about Mary and “The Saints” and the Pope and their Rosary Beads all day long — they’ll talk to you for hours about all of that! But Jesus? Rarely mentioned.
In fact, the more I’ve learned from interacting with the Catholics I think I can boil it all down to one common, underlying statement: the Catholics will elevate anything they can find in order to put distance and separation between themselves and Jesus.
Why?
I can’t answer that.
But I can objectively observe that is what’s happening.
Me: Pray directly to God in Jesus’ name, that’s what the Bible says! Simple!
Catholics: We can’t possibly do that! We need to pray to Mary. Or sometimes they get cute with it and they say “we’re not praying TO Mary and the Saints, we’re just asking Mary and the Saints to pray for us.
Me: Why? Why can’t you just pray directly to Jesus yourself?
Catholics: SHUT UP RACIST! Mary is the Queen of Heaven and she appeared once as a ghost to a bunch of people and predicted World War 2 so that’s why we pray to her!
It all sounds quite absurd to me, but you keep on doing you Catholics. Good luck to you!