Actor Chris Pratt has cleared up rumors about his alleged attendance at Hillsong Church.
Speaking to Men's Health magazine, the Jurassic World star put distance between himself and the Australian-based church that has been hit by scandals in recent years.
"I never went to Hillsong. I've never actually been to Hillsong. I don't know anyone from that church," he said.
He told the magazine that he attends Zoe Church, whose pastor is Chad Veach, but that he does not attend it exclusively.
His daughter Lyla, with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, was baptized at a Catholic church in Santa Monica.
During the interview, Pratt spoke about some comments he made about God at the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
When he received the Generation Award in 2018, he used the stage to tell viewers: "God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you," before adding, "Don't be a turd."
Looking back, he told Men's Health that "maybe it was hubris" to share this message.
"For me to stand up on the stage and say the things that I said, I'm not sure I touched anybody," he said.
He then shared some of his views about religion and being religious.
"Religion has been oppressive as f*** for a long time," he said.
"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.
"Whatever it is. The evil that's in the heart of every single man has glommed on to the back of religion and come along for the ride."
Pratt was rebuked by actor Elliot Page in 2019 for apparently attending Hillsong Church. Page called the church "infamously anti-LGBTQ".
He responded at the time with a statement: "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."
Asked by Men's Health why he did not clarify at the time that he does not attend Hillsong, Pratt answered, "I'm gonna, like, throw a church under the bus?"
