(RuPaul and Oprah. Screenshot via YouTube.)

Oprah sat down with RuPaul to discuss the spirituality of drag, why “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has become so popular and the lessons he’s learned from the drag world for the February issue of O, The Oprah Magazine and for her podcast  “Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations.”

RuPaul shared when he first realized that life shouldn’t be taken seriously when he was a child watching TV.

“When I was about 11 years old, on PBS, I found my tribe in ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus.’ I thought, ‘OK, they get it,’” RuPaul says. “They’re irreverent, they’re not taking anything seriously and they’re having fun. That’s what this is all about.”

RuPaul also explained why he thinks “Drag Race” has now become a phenomenon.

“The kids who come [to Drag Con] don’t identify with gay or straight. They are smart,’ RuPaul says.‘They’re looking for a voice, almost like a new belief system that transcends the 20th century that is completely of the 21st century.They found our show. I think our show speaks to that forward-thinking voice, that emerging voice of young people. It’s almost like a religion or a way of life.”

In another clip, Oprah points out that Ru goes deep with contestants on the show.

“It’s amazing. It’s often on your show you seem to be giving spiritual advice,” Oprah says.

“We set up the situation on this competition reality show where we challenged them to go beyond their own limited perception of themselves,” Ru says.

“That is the greatest spiritual teaching there is,” Oprah adds.

“The real challenge is for them to be willing to die and become reborn,” RuPaul concludes.

Read RuPaul’s interview with Oprah here.