'Nothing new': Chris Pratt compares being criticized for his faith with hate Jesus received 2000 years ago
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The ‘Avengers’ star, Chris Pratt, recently spoke out about his views on beliefs and his perception of being on the receiving end of hatred for believing in God. He even made references to Jesus Christ to signify the situation. The Marvel star, who has often come under internet scrutiny for advocating his faith, recently told an interviewer that he knows that he gets criticized for that.
“I sure do but that’s nothing new, that’s nothing new, you know?” the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ star said before adding a reference to the Bible, “If I was of this world, they would love me just like that but as it is, I’ve chosen out of this world. That’s John 15:18 through 20.”
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The ‘Jurassic World’ star then compared how Jesus Christ was also “hated” in his time, “That’s the way it is, nothing new, 2,000 years ago they hated him, too.” Talking to Page Six, he also revealed his defense mechanism and how he manages to deal with all the criticism, “Oh, just how you deal with anything,” and explained, “Like a rhino, stick your head down, you keep driving forward, you have thick skin and if anyone gets in your way, you stick the horn right up their ass!”
‘God is real. God loves you’
While accepting the ‘Generation Award’ from the 2018 installment of the MTV TV & Movie Award, Pratt delivered a speech where he praised God in an unhinged way. The ‘Passengers’ star was found saying, “God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you,” before adding humorously, “Don’t be a turd,” reports The Hollywood Reporter.
However, the discourse of him being a ‘religious’ person supposedly started from there. One might even question why Pratt is snubbed by social media for being religious. While Pratt has time and again praised the Lord for all-encompassing love, he is certainly not "religious." The explanation for this dichotomy is given by the father-of three in another interview.
‘I’m not a religious person’
In 2022, in an interview with Men’s Health, he opened up about not being a religious person; rather, he prefers to call himself "spiritual". He also shared his insights regarding why people were put off by the insinuation that he follows religion. Pratt offered, "Religion has been oppressive as f**k for a long time," and added, "I didn’t know that I would kind of become the face of religion when really I’m not a religious person."
He later continued differentiating between following religion while "adhering" to man-made customs and using religion to oppress people. Pratt said, "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."
He concluded the segment by saying, "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."
‘I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone’
In 2019, after Pratt told Stephen Colbert on ‘The Late Show’ about his church, actor Elliot Page famously slammed him for being part of an organization that is controversially unsupportive of the LGBQ community. While he goes to Zoe Church in Los Angeles, it is rumored to have links with the conservative Hillsong Church. Page wrote at that time, "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," reports The Hollywood Reporter.
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
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) February 9, 2019
Page also tweeted, "Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too?"
Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too? https://t.co/meg8m69FeF
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) February 8, 2019
Pratt responded to the allegations by saying, “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 go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone." He further added, “I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone. Despite what the Bible says about divorce, my church community was there for me every stop 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," reports Variety.