He was raised in the church. As a child, he played in the parking lot with his friends. His dad led the music program. As he grew, he tried to be a good person.

Then, it changed. David Bazan questioned his roots.

“[In college], I had one of my first, what I would call, paradigm shifts,” he said. “I started to understand that things maybe weren’t what they seemed.”

Now, Bazan explores those questions of religion with music. He will take the stage today at the Picador, 330 E. Washington St., with Say Hi opening, at 9 p.m. Admission is $12.

The Seattle-based musician has had an expansive career. For around a decade, he performed under the name Pedro the Lion, releasing four full-length albums and numerous EPs. Now, he returns with his first full-length album under his real name titled Curse Your Branches.

Like his previous work, the new LP questions religion, with the opening song immediately comparing modern day life to the biblical story of Adam and Eve.

“I heard one person call it a breakup record with God, which I thought was quite interesting and entertaining,” he said. “It’s also been called a breakup record with original sin — which, too, is interesting, and maybe a little more accurate.”

However, Bazan isn’t one to force his beliefs onto his listeners. The artist often says he is an agnostic when forced to make a choice, but he tries to not identify himself with any part of the religious spectrum.

“I don’t have an agenda,” he said. “I want people to take from the record whatever they take. I have a good idea of what’s on the record, but I learn some from people’s interpretations as well.”

Honesty is a major factor in his lyrics as he approaches writing about religion with a different angle.

Instead of talking directly about God, he often tells narratives about people struggling with problems.

“Transparency and authenticity both are what I put forward in my life, so it comes a bit naturally,” Bazan said. His music flirts with the line between acoustic folk and rock ’n’ roll, but KRUI programming director Dolan Murphy said Bazan’s vocals attract his ear.

“I can’t get enough of it,” Murphy said. “His range is incredible. In some songs on his Pedro the Lion stuff, he seems to start out singing bass and by the end is flying in falsetto.”

Bazan records all of his music at his home, in what he calls a “studio,” but emphasizes the quotation marks around that word.

“That’s the way I’ve always done it,” he said. “It puts you in complete control or lack of control, I guess. And no one is interfering with your vision — or lack of vision.”