Jennifer Garner recently shared that she would’ve wanted to be a minister if she didn’t have a successful acting career. Her mother is still convinced it will happen one day. The 51-year-old actress told Allure Magazine, “I would have really liked being a minister. My mom thinks I still will be. I grew up in such a lovely church in the United Methodist Church, and the minister was like the den parent.”
Garner continued, “What I like about the study of religion; it reminds me of the study of theater — it’s really a liberal arts education. You have to understand history, geography, literature. It’s art; it’s everything. I don’t know anything about Hinduism, Islam, or so many other religions, and I wish I did. That feels like a sign of respect.” Garner and her three kids she shares with ex Ben Affleck, Violet Anne, Seraphina Rose, and Samuel, attend church. Violet Anne teaches Sunday school.
She told the magazine, “I think the more you engage, the more you learn about different ways that people believe and worship, the more you can sit next to anyone and be a neighbor. There’s such value in that to me. I don’t know that I will ever be someone who writes a sermon Sunday morning, but I like the idea of it. I like the idea of going back to divinity school.”
Garner rose to fame in 2001 after appearing in the first season of “Alias.” Her rise continued with roles in movies like “Daredevil” and “Juno.” However, the actress hasn’t always loved the spotlight despite her success. She spoke honestly about the paparazzi following her after her daughter Violet’s birth.
She explained, “There were two decades where it was really hard to hold a conversation. Not in a woe-is-me, poor celebrity way. I was on baby watch every single day. The day after I had a baby, the paparazzi were watching again. They kind of rush you through your life because they’re just trying to get to the next stage of something they can sell.”
Garner also shared that she doesn’t typically read about herself in the media, saying, “I learned a while ago that I’m way too sensitive to what is written about me, my family. The only things I have on my phone are The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. I can’t even have CNN.”
Despite the constant paparazzi “baby watch,” Garner did welcome two more children with Affleck before the couple split in 2018. The couple has primarily kept their kids out of the spotlight. The actress has worked to keep her kids off social media as they go through their teenage years. “I just said to my kids, ‘Tell me — show me the articles that prove that social media is good for teenagers, and then we’ll have the conversation,” Garner previously said during an interview on “Today.”
Jennifer Garner’s career as an actress may have sidelined her aspirations to be a minister, but who’s to say she won’t go to divinity school?