More and more Christian celebrities are under fire for attending churches that hold a biblical view of sexuality. Chris Pratt is one of them.
Pratt was recently criticized in a Washington Post column for attending Zoe Church, in Lose Angeles. Drew Goins, who wrote the column said the church doesn’t fully affirm LGBTQ beliefs. He also criticized Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Kylie Jenner for attending Hillsong Church.
“It takes digging to unearth that these churches are as inhospitable to queer Christians as less-hip congregations,” Goins said. “…This obfuscation is a win-win deal for Hollywood’s conservation Christians and the churches that give their patron stars plausible deniability. The celebrities get a place to worship and still seem woke, and Hillsong and its fellow churches get to raise their profiles.”
Goins also wrote, “unsuspecting LGBTQ worshipers, on the other hand, get nothing but the eventual shock that they’re surrounded by people who quietly condemn their identity.”
CNN columnist Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons urged Pratt to take a public stand on the issue.
“If the church does not affirm LGBTQ people, he has three options as an ally: Leave his church and join one that actually affirms LGBTQ people…stay and publically voice his belief in a need to affirm LGBTQ Christians in his church or stop portraying himself as an LGBTQ ally,” Graves-Fitzsimmons said.
A lot of this controversy stirred up after Pratt’s appearance on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert where he spoke about being a member of the Bible-believing Church. In a series of tweets, she called out the church for being anti-LGBTQ.
Fresh from fasting, @prattprattpratt talks about his spiritual side on @colbertlateshow https://t.co/iwUyo4tIhh pic.twitter.com/FQKZVwwtgN
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 8, 2019
She emphasized that there’s no excuse for anyone patronizing an organization that hates.
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
While Pratt doesn’t agree with Page’s attack on his church, he did acknowledge that he doesn’t speak for the Church.
Pratt responded directly to Page’s tweets calling Hillsong Church “anti-LGBTQ.”
In a post on his Instagram story, Pratt says this couldn’t be further from the truth, sharing that Hillsong Church opens its doors to “absolutely everyone.” He said that although the Bible teaches divorce is wrong, Hillsong walked with him through it, never judging him.
According to TMZ, Hillsong’s Senior Pastor, Brian Houston said in 2015…”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.”
While Pratt didn’t address Houston’s comment he did say, “No church defines me or my life, and I am not a spokesman for any church or any group of people.”