Justin Bieber celebrated Easter by proclaiming his belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Instagram.

The pop star, who has previously made headlines by being found guilty of assault, reckless driving and vandalism, has been attending services at the Hillsong Church, a Pentecostal megachurch founded in Australia, for the past two years.

Bieber, who is 24, posted to his 98.3 million followers that “Easter is not about a bunny, it’s a reminder that my Jesus died on the cross for my sins and then rose from the dead defeating death!

He added: “I believe this happened and it changes everything!”

Bieber continued: “I am set free from bondage and shame, I am a child of the most high God and he loves me exactly where I am, how I am, for who I am.”

The post was, somewhat bizarrely, followed up by a string of four very similar selfies of Bieber wearing novelty rabbit glasses and clutching a toy rabbit.

But his proclamation of faith is unlikely to be an April Fool’s joke: Bieber regularly posts about his Christianity on Instagram, showing religious paintings he has created or sharing pieces of writing about his relationship with god:

When Bieber cancelled remaining dates while still on his Purpose tour last summer, one of the reasons given was that he wanted to “rededicate his life to Christ”. Days later, he gave interviews backstage at Hillsong Conference, speaking about his spiritual experiences and pleasure in watching young people pray.

Some now expect Bieber’s forthcoming fifth album to reflect his new-found fervour for Christianity. A week ago, sources told The Sun: “Justin is on the lookout for songs which really reflect where he is in his life in terms of spirituality.

“He has always been religious but the last two years have seen him grow closer to the Hillsong Church and it has changed his entire life. He has a totally different outlook now.”