Not holding back. While addressing his personal life, Chris Pratt called out the rumors that he was involved with the controversial Hillsong Church.
“I never went to Hillsong. I’ve never actually been to Hillsong. I don’t know anyone from that church,” Pratt, 43, revealed in an interview with Men’s Health that was published on Tuesday, June 28. “Religion has been oppressive as f–k 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.”
Pratt, who has been candid about his spirituality, was previously called out by Elliot Page for his involvement with Los Angeles’ Zoe Church. After the Guardians of the Galaxy actor discussed how his place of worship inspired him to go on a 21-day cleanse, Page, 35, questioned his association with the church.
“Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too?” the Juno star tweeted in February 2019, in response to Pratt’s comments about the “Daniel Fast.”
At the time, Zoe Church’s pastor Chad Veach told The New York Times that he “modeled his church after Hillsong,” where he sometimes preaches. Hillsong’s former senior global pastor Brian Houston, for his part, noted in a past statement that the church was “a gay welcoming church but we are not a church that affirms a gay lifestyle.”
“Hillsong Church welcomes ALL people but does not affirm all lifestyles,” Houston, 68, wrote in 2015. “Put clearly, we do not affirm a gay lifestyle and because of this we do not knowingly have actively gay people in positions of leadership, either paid or unpaid. I recognize this one statement alone is upsetting to people on both sides of this discussion, which points to the complexity of the issue for churches all over the world.”
The Parks and Recreation alum later took to social media to slam claims that he was involved with a church that doesn’t support the LGBTQIA+ community. “It has recently been suggested that I belong to a church which ‘hates people’ and is ‘infamously anti-LGBTQ’,” the Minnesota native wrote via Instagram. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone.”
He continued: “Despite what the Bible says about divorce my church community was there for me every step of the way, never judging, just gracefully accompanying me on my walk. They helped me tremendously offering love and support. It is what I have seen them do for others on countless occasions regardless of sexual orientation, race or gender.”
Pratt pointed out that his values did not have to line up with his place of worship. “My faith is important to me but no church defines me or my life, and I am not a spokesman for any church or group of people,” he concluded. “My values define who I am. We need less hate in this world, not more. I am a man who believes that everyone is entitled to love who they want free from the judgement of their fellow man.”
Scroll down for the actor’s biggest revelations about the public’s misconceptions regarding his life: