[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b9a622590b5e715c8b470a81cbaadfaa.jpg]]]]

->'''Lisa:''' I can't believe you're not still popular.\\
'''Bart:''' What did you do? Screw up like The Beatles and say you were bigger than Jesus?\\
'''Homer:''' All the time! It was the title of our second album!
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet Homer's Barbershop Quartet]]"

A StockPhrase for any good BlasphemousBoast as well as a StockShoutOut and StockParody to be found in any story about characters becoming famous.

Its origins lie in Music/JohnLennon's (in)famously controversial remark to a reporter in 1966 that Music/TheBeatles were [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_popular_than_Jesus "more popular than Jesus"]] but have since come to be remembered [[BeamMeUpScotty a little differently]].

Bigger Than Jesus is a staple for any story about a band that is BorrowingTheBeatles, but it can be also found in any sort of narrative about characters gaining sudden celebrity status. Use of the phrase, or a variant thereof, is typically something that is conveyed to be met with shock by the public at large and lead to widespread protests and rallies to [[BookBurning destroy the characters' merchandise]] followed by whoever originally [[InvokedTrope invoked]] the phrase explaining that he meant something completely different, just like what happened with Music/TheBeatles but PlayedForLaughs.

If a character really ''does'' have a level of fame that approaches this, then they're FamedInStory and/or a LivingLegend. SisterTrope to LikeAGodToMe and AnswersToTheNameOfGod.

Not to be confused with the WebComic ''Webcomic/BiggerThanCheeses''.

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!!Examples:

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[[folder:Comedy]]
* A RunningGag in ''MitchBennIsThe37thBeatle'', whenever Mitch "forgets" to switch off the "Music/JohnLennon effect" on his microphone: "When I said we were bigger than Jesus..."\\
"...a car had just backfired outside. 'We're bigger than ... ''Jesus!'''"\\
"... I meant Jesús, the cleaner. He was a little fella, everyone was bigger than him."\\
"... I meant if we all stood on each other's shoulders."
* Also at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe, Jonny & the Baptists called their show ''Bigger Than Judas''.
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[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Issue #30 of ''ComicBook/TheSavageDragon'' features a guest appearance of the, at the time, mega-popular ComicBook/{{Spawn}}, the issue was one of the best-selling issues of the Savage Dragon to that date. Issue #31 of the Savage Dragon features a guest appearance of God, and did not sell nearly as well. Creator of the Savage Dragon "Erik Larsen" suggested to the creator of Spawn, Todd [=McFarlane=] that he create a new ad campaign saying: "A lot of people have claimed to be more popular than God, but Spawn is the first with documented proof." [=McFarlane=] declined using it.
* In ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'', "Four Angels" has a variation. After Lew Siffer (aka Satan), the one responsible for offering the Green Angels a chance at stardom through a DealWithTheDevil, tells Bobby that he can't marry another man, lest he destroy the image of the band, Bobby says, "Face it, Lew. I'm famous now. I'm bigger than you are, so shut up."
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[[folder: Live-Action Film]]
* The {{Mockumentary}} ''Music/TheRutles: All You Need Is Cash'', which parodies much of Music/TheBeatles' own history, includes one segment about a controversy caused by Ron Nasty claiming that The Rutles were "bigger than God." Ron, speaking to a slightly deaf journalist, ''actually'' said that they were "bigger than Rod," as in Music/RodStewart. Rod Stewart would not make it big for another eight years. The protests and album burnings that were sparked by Ron's comment are said to have seen the sales of Rutles albums and merchandise skyrocket as people were buying their products just to have them destroyed. While the movie [[PlayedForLaughs plays this for laughs]], it's actually very reflective of the RealLife protests against Music/TheBeatles.
* Non-band variant: In ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness'', Sutter Cane claims several times that more people read, and believe in, his novels than the Bible. This allows him to [[RewritingReality shape reality to his will]].
* According to ''Film/LakePlacid'', crocodiles have been worshipped by more people throughout history than Jesus.
* The film ''Film/MusicAndLyrics'' opens with a music video of the fictional 80's band Pop, and closes by replaying it with VH-1-style trivia popups. One of these says that the group once controversially claimed they were "bigger than the Beatles".[[note]]According to the following popup, they went on to clarify they meant they're ''literally'' bigger, because they have five members (compared to the Beatles' four).[[/note]]
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[[folder:Literature]]
* British actor and comedian Rik Mayall titled his autobiography ''Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ''.
* Played with in Literature/TheCorneliusChronicles novel ''The Condition of Muzak''. When Jerry Cornelius is crowned King of England, another character describes him as being "bigger than the Beatles".
* The Beatles-parody novel ''Literature/PaperbackWriter'' has John make his famous statement and cause the same uproar he did in real life. After consulting with advisers, John publicly apologizes, saying that what he really meant was, as modern European men, the Beatles were ''taller'' than a first century Israelite like Jesus would've been.
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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'':
** Near the end of a short film about industrial workplace safety, there's a camera shot where the pastor narrator looms larger than his church in the background. One of the bots chimes in, "I'm bigger than Jesus."
** Also done in the ''Film/{{Santa Claus|1959}}'' [[{{Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S05E21SantaClaus}} episode]] when Santa marvels at how many letters he's getting.
* At one point on ''Series/TheNakedBrothersBand'', a member of the titular band tells the press that they're "Bigger than SantaClaus." He was looking at the band's poster that was next to a (much smaller) poster of Santa Claus and he happen to be leaning toward a microphone when he said it.
* ''Series/MrShow'' has the Beatles parody "The Fad Three," in which a trio of mop-topped teen heartthrobs get famous for being photographed. One of them says that they've been photographed more times than Jesus Christ, which everyone agrees is true and there's a noted lack of controversy.
* In Music/WeirdAlYankovic's {{Mockumentary}} ''The Complete Al'', he merely claims he is taller than the Osmonds.
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[[folder:Music]]
* The chorus of the song "Guns And Cigarettes" by the band Atmosphere sees {{Boastful Rap}}per Slug profess how he wants to be bigger than Jesus ''and'' Music/TheBeatles, among other things.
* A song by band What I Like About Jew (now Good For The Jews and Jewmongous) describes how they are physically taller than Jesus.
--> ''The Beatles [[ShoutOut said they were bigger than you]],''\\
''But I've got the height on The Beatles too.''\\
''If genes determine the size of your bod,''\\
''Then my dad must be taller than God!''
* Source of the name for rockers Joe Christ and the Bigger than God.
* Metal band [[Music/StormtroopersOfDeath S.O.D.]] has an album "Bigger Than The Devil".
* Country artist Music/JoeDiffie had a song in 1995 titled "Bigger Than the Beatles".
* Music/{{Chicago|Band}}'s former bassist, Jason Scheff, wrote a song called "Bigger Than {{Music/Elvis|Presley}}" as a tribute to his father Jerry Scheff, who was Presley's road bassist for many years. (Jerry even played on the track without realizing he was the subject until he heard the finished song.)
* Music/MarilynManson had an [[TheMerch official T-shirt]] that featured the slogan "Bigger Than Satan."
* The ''Kalahari Surfers'' had an album in 1989 called ''Bigger Than Jesus''.
* [[ChristianRock Audio Adrenaline]] takes the humbler route with "Never Gonna Be as Big as Jesus".
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[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* Strangely enough, UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} himself used this trope, at least in the eyes of the Jewish priesthood at the time. From [[Literature/TheFourGospels Luke Chapter 11:]]
-->'''Jesus:''' The Queen of the South will rise at the judgement with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom; and now one greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now one greater than Jonah is here.
** Jesus also used this when saying that only God is good, and comparing the Trinity's role in things, with one Person being the Father, the other being the Son, and another being the Holy Spirit.
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[[folder:Print Media]]
* British music periodical ''Magazine/{{NME}}'' put Music/AndrewWK on their front cover in late October 2001 hailing him as "The Saviour of Music" and "Bigger Than Jesus!"
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[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Parodied by the British women's wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling EVE, who titled their April 13, 2019 event ''Bigger Than [=Shesus=]''.
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[[folder:Theatre]]
* In the ''Film/{{Amelie}}: The Musical'' song "Goodbye, Amélie", an Music/EltonJohn parody sings that Amelie is "nicer than [[Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow Oprah]], bigger than Jesus".
* Indirectly referenced in ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'': Heather Chandler's ghost exclaims gleefully that she's "bigger than John Lennon", in the number "Me Inside of Me", when she sees students upholding her as a saintly martyr because of her suicide note (which was, in reality, forged by J.D. and Veronica to hide that they killed her).
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has a quest in which you have to advertise for a band by pasting fliers to monsters. One of the messages you can get if you go back to the concert arena before you're done advertising says that the band has become "more popular than cheeses."
* ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'': Befriending half of South Park on Facebook will net you the "More Popular Than Jesus" achievement. Befriending ''all'' of South Park nets you the "More Popular Than John Lennon" achievement.
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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Fanboys}}'' puts a twist on this with the Beatles Rock Band Game in a mini strip.
* ''Webcomic/SinFest'' [[InvertedTrope inverted]] the trope in a strip titled [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2009-06-28 "Agent"]] where the Devil offers to become Jesus's personal agent and make him "Bigger than the Beatles."
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[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Website/BabylonBee'': [[https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-i-have-done-more-for-christianity-than-jesus "Trump: 'I Have Done More For Christianity Than Jesus'"]]
* ''Website/CollegeHumor'''s article [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110112133502/http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1811645 "If the Internet Had Always Existed"]] saw a depiction of what Twitter would have looked like in TheSixties with Music/JohnLennon tweeting, "We have more followers than @Jesus."
* An index at Website/{{Uncyclopedia}} is titled [[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Things_Bigger_Than_Jesus,_But_Smaller_Than_The_Beatles "Things Bigger Than Jesus, but Smaller Than the Beatles."]]
* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'': Spoony's version of [[Film/BattlefieldEarth Terl]] makes this declaration at the end of a video where he reveals his [[MundaneMadeAwesome instinctive knowledge of how far any given place on the planet is above or below sea level]].
* ''Website/TheOnion'' published an apology in their corrections section after purportedly making such a remark, consequently revealing {{Inverted|Trope}} intentions.
->''"We would like to apologize for stating last week that ''The Onion'' is 'bigger than Jesus'. What we meant to imply is that ''The Onion'' is more important and influential than Jesus, not that our newspaper is in any way physically larger than He was. We regret any confusion."''
-->--''Website/TheOnion''
* ''Webvideo/MusicalHell'' is hosted by a demon, so she puts a spin on the (actual) original quote when reviewing ''Film/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'':
-->They cut a successful album and bam, more popular than the opposition's kid."
* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3933 SCP-3933]] was a famous band called "Tyrannosaurus Flex," whose lead singer is claimed to have said "if The Beatles were bigger than Jesus, we're bigger than God." No one remembers them because, as if by divine retribution, hearing a particular song of theirs causes one to completely forget that the band and its members ever existed.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet Homer's Barbershop Quartet]]", Homer's titular band with a history that very much resembles that of Music/TheBeatles is alleged to have frequently [[BlasphemousBoast boasted]] to be "bigger than Jesus" and even titled their second album as such, with a cover that shows the band [[WalkOnWater Walking On Water]] in the AbbeyRoadCrossing pose.
** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E21TheBartOfWar The Bart of War]]" referenced Music/TheBeatles controversy when it turns out that Ned Flanders has a huge collection of Beatles memorabilia. Why? Because they were bigger than Jesus!
* One cartoon short on ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'' saw Norbert and Daggett become famous for a hit song, and at one point their manager tells them that they're "bigger than sliced bread," showing them a graph chart that proves this. When Daggett repeats this to the press, people start burning their albums, leading to Daggett explaining that he meant that they're ''physically larger'' than sliced bread. Upon hearing this explanation, people burning their albums are seen putting their hands into the fire to retrieve them.
* One ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' cartoon formatted as a documentary on the rise and popularity of the group shows one segment where Alvin shocks everyone at a press conference, including Simon and Theodore, by shouting, "We're bigger than WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse!" People start destroying their Chipmunks merchandise as Alvin is forced to make an apology to the press soon after.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** In "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS9E6BrianWritesABestseller Brian Writes a Bestseller]]", after Brian does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly that]], he remarks about his new-found fame by sharing his thoughts on Music/TheBeatles' controversy.
--->'''Brian:''' I used to think that Music/JohnLennon was kind of a jerk for saying The Beatles were bigger than Jesus, but now, I mean, I'm not saying that I am, but I ''get'' it.
** Also played with in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS7E2IDreamofJesus I Dream of Jesus]]". When Jesus becomes famous, one newspaper ran the headline "Jesus Is Bigger Than Jesus!"
** This bit from "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS9E9AndImJoyceKinney And I'm Joyce Kinney]]":
--->'''Lois:''' And more importantly, are you all better than Jesus?\\
'''Parishioner:''' I'm better than Jesus.\\
'''Lois:''' Okay, yes, Creator/TinaFey, you're better than Jesus.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/TrippingTheRift'' episode "Cool Whip", Whip becomes an instant celebrity on a planet, and the king proclaims him "Bigger than Jesus" but not the Beatles. [[spoiler:Though he learns that he is [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame going to be hunted]] and mounted, like every identical lizard alien before him.]]
* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'', where God decides to check his banking account after hearing that [[Videogame/{{Minecraft}} Notch]] has "more money than God".
* In the AnimatedAdaptation of Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/SoulMusic'', Buddy says, "We're more popular than cheeses," in a dairy-oriented village. Buddy's band is run out of town.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In the trope defining incident with Music/TheBeatles, Music/JohnLennon's original comment in a March 1966 ''Evening Standard'' interview with Maureen Cleave was that the band were "more popular than Jesus". This has been widely [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] by many people to have been part of a general boast that the Beatles were more popular than traditional religion, but in context, it reads a bit differently:
-->"'Christianity will go,' [Lennon] said. 'It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.'"
** The initial quote went without controversy when it was first published in the ''Evening Standard'' as part of a series of feature articles by Cleave entitled "How Does a Beatle Live?" which had seen her interview all four of them (by that point, she had known them for several years). At the time, church attendance in Britain was decreasing, and the clergy in all denominations had difficulty reaching out to younger generations. This decline in popularity of Christianity was a common conversation topic among British intellectuals (to the point where even ''Church of England bishops'' were becoming critical of traditional Christian theology), and most readers there understood that this was part of the actual context behind the quote. The interview actually reached America shortly afterwards and didn't attract much attention at all at first, despite several highly-read publications (notably the ''New York Times'') re-printing it. Then the pop music magazine ''Datebook'' reprinted it and sent copies of the issue to radio stations in the [[DeepSouth Bible Belt]], where Christians interpreted "more popular than" to mean "better than". This led to public protests, [[BookBurning burning rallies]], disc jockeys smashing Beatles records on air, and even the KKK getting in on the scene, until Lennon spoke at press conferences and apologized. However, the BeamMeUpScotty effect works both ways: Lennon never claimed in the original that the Beatles were better than Jesus, but neither did he argue that it was a ''pity'' that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. The closest he came to saying that was at a press conference in August 1966, where he commented "But I never meant it as a lousy or anti-religious thing, or anything." It was [=McCartney=], at the same conference, who did the original piece of retconning:
--->'''Reporter''': Do you personally believe...?
--->'''John''': I think that... My views are only from what I've read or observed of Christianity and what it was, and what it has been, or what it could be -- it just seems to me to be shrinking. I'm not knocking it or saying it's bad. I'm just saying it seems to be shrinking and losing contact.
--->'''Paul''': And we all deplore the fact that it is, you know. That's the main point about it all.
--->'''John''': Nothing better seems to be replacing it, so we're not saying anything about that.
* In TheNineties, music periodical ''The New Music Express'' (''NME'') spoofed Music/{{Oasis}}'s thrall to The Beatles and their tendency to plagiarize with a fictitious interview in which Noel Gallagher claimed to be "bigger than God." Just one year later, in RealLife, [[HilariousInHindsight Noel Gallagher made exactly the same claim]], though the entire point of John Lennon's original remarks in 1966 were completely lost on him.
[[/folder]]
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