Hollywood superstar Chris Pratt continues to defend his Christian faith—even when sitting across from someone who says church traumatized him. During a conversation on Bill Maher’s podcast “Club Random,” the outspoken atheist admitted his Catholic upbrding left him with lingering “fear,” while Pratt explained why he still attends Mass every Sunday with his family.
“I wasn’t confirmed in the Catholic Church,” Pratt told Maher “but I go to a Catholic church. I love it all. I’m a follower of, you know, Jesus.”
Editor’s note: This video contains language some might find offensive.
Bill Maher Opens Up About Religious Trauma
Chris Pratt and Bill Maher Talk About Protestantism, Catholicism
Bill Maher is the former host of “Politically Incorrect” and current host of “Real Time With Bill Maher.” In 2008, he released the film “Religulous,” in which he presented an extremely negative view of various religions, including Christianity.
Chris Pratt is an actor who rose to fame while on the TV show “Parks and Recreation” and has since starred in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, the “Jurassic World” franchise, and numerous other films and series.
During the conversation, Maher brought up his Catholic upbringing, revealing the lasting impact it had on him.
“I was brought up Catholic,” Maher said. “To this day, if I walk into a church, you know, there’s a feeling that will never go away for me: fear. But it’s also, you know, I’m sure, for many people, inspirational. It’s both, you know.”
Later in the conversation, Maher doubled down on his experience: “They did traumatize me,” he said. “I mean, you can believe in Jesus as a god. I don’t, but you can and still be critical of his minions on earth and the things they’ve done.”
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Despite Maher’s negative experiences, Pratt explained his own journey with church and why he continues to attend.
“I was baptized Catholic as a child, and then I was raised—my family wasn’t religious, but I was, you know, baptized Catholic, kind of procedurally through my family because my dad was Catholic…and then we never really went to church,” Pratt explained. “I grew up next to a Lutheran church, which I went to a few times, and of course, Lutheranism and Catholicism slightly differ in terms of the way that they translate the literal Bible.”
Now, Pratt attends Catholic Mass regularly with his wife, who is Catholic, though he identifies more broadly as Christian.
“I go to a Catholic church—my wife is Catholic—but I would probably consider myself to be more Christian than Catholic. I don’t know that I’m necessarily like one or the other,” Pratt said.
“Anyone who believes in Christ is a Christian, right?” Maher asked.
“Right,” said Pratt. “But, like, I wasn’t confirmed in the Catholic Church…I go to a Catholic church. I love it all. I’m a follower of, you know, Jesus.”
