How 'Saint of Me' by The Rolling Stones Skewers Religious Hypocrisy with Three Biblical Figures

The most interesting thing about “Saint of Me” is that Mick Jagger doesn’t just attack religious hypocrisy in the abstract—he picks three specific historical figures who were themselves deeply flawed before being recast as saints. The song’s narrator keeps insisting “you’re never gonna make a saint of me,” turning the idea of sainthood into a club that only the privileged or reformed get to join.

The three figures are Moses, Saint Augustine, and Saint Paul. Moses comes down from the mountain with the law but can’