Sean Joseph
Actor Chris Pratt denied allegations that that he attended the Hillsong Church during an interview with Men’s Health for its July-August cover story. The church allegedly holds anti-LGBTQ views.
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The Jurassic World star told the magazine that he’s never been to the controversial church, “I never went to Hillsong. I’ve never actually been to Hillsong. I don’t know anyone from that church.”
Pratt says he attends Zoe Church, but added that he’s not a religious person, “Religion has been oppressive as f*** for a long time. I didn’t know that I would kind of become the face of religion when really I’m not a religious person.”
“I think there’s a distinction between being religious adhering to the customs created by man, oftentimes appropriating the awe reserved for who I believe is a very real God, and using it to control people, to take money from people, to abuse children, to steal land, to justify hatred.”
Pratt was first publicly linked to Hillsong Church in 2019
Pratt was first publicly linked to Hillsong Church in 2019 by Elliott Page. He was rumored to be a member of the church when Page reacted on Twitter to an appearance of Pratt’s on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. During that appearance he talked about his faith.
Page’s tweet read, “If you are a famous actor and you belong to an organization that hates a certain group of people, don’t be surprised if someone simply wonders why it’s not addressed. Being anti-LGBTQ is wrong, there aren’t two sides. The damage it causes is severe. Full stop. Sending love to all.”
While Page didn’t say the name of the church in the tweet about Pratt, it was assumed by many that he was referencing the Hillsong Church. A church many prominent young Christians in Hollywood once belonged to.
He responded at the time to the claim by issuing a denial, “It has recently been suggested that I belong to a church which hates a certain group of people and is infamously anti-LGBTQ. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a man who believes that everyone is entitled to love who they want free from the judgment of their fellow man.”
He does have supporters
While Pratt still receives backlash on social media for allegedly belonging to the controversial church, he does have supporters. James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow are among them.
Gunn had this to say about Pratt, “It absolutely infuriates me. Chris is unspeakably kind to people; he goes out of his way to help kids. He’s an especially loving father. And there’s a lot of stuff that people have literally just made up about him—about his politics, about who he is, about what he believes of other people, you know?”
“I don’t know why we treat each other this way,” Trevorrow added.
Pratt’s latest movie, Jurassic World: Dominion is in theaters now.
It’s not about religion, it’s about following after Jesus Christ and trying to be more like Him. Allowing Him to use us so others might see Him through us…