Hillsong Church says it isn’t ‘anti-anyone,’ after Ellen Page calls it ‘anti-LGBTQ’
Ellen Page (left) and a service at a Hillsong Church outpost. (Getty Hillsong Church)
Christian megachurch Hillsong Church has released a statement saying is is not “anti-anyone,” after Ellen Page appeared to accuse the denomination of being “infamously anti-LGBTQ.”
The Sydney-founded church issued a press release on Thursday (February 14), in the wake of Page criticising actor Chris Pratt after he discussed his church in a recent interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
“Hillsong Church does not preach against anyone or any group; we are not ‘anti-anyone,'” reads the statement from Hillsong Church.
The statement adds that Hillsong Church “has been a vocal opponent of gay conversion therapy and has made it clear to our pastors that we do not support that approach,” since its foundation in 1983.
Hillsong Church says it opposes gay conversion therapy and isn’t “anti-anyone”
Pratt reportedly attends Zoe Church in Los Angeles, California, which has been linked to Hillsong Church, according to The New York Times.
The Pentecostal church has previously been accused of referring worshipers to gay conversion therapy, as reported by The Daily Beast in 2016.
Hillsong Church is known for having a number of celebrities among its congregants, including Hailey and Justin Bieber, Kylie and Kendall Jenner and Selena Gomez, according to US news site Vox.
Hillsong Church’s press release continues: “We are an inclusive Christian church that loves, values and welcomes all people, regardless of their background, ethnicity, beliefs, values, or personal identity.”
Ellen Page called the church Chris Pratt attends “infamously anti-LGBTQ.” (EllenPage/twitter)
Hillsong Church was established by pastor Brian Houston, who publicly revealed he is against equal marriage in 2015, and his wife, Bobbie.
It now has churches in more than 20 countries across the world, including the UK and the US.
“We are an inclusive Christian church that loves, values and welcomes all people, regardless of their background, ethnicity, beliefs, values, or personal identity.”
—Hillsong Church
Page hit out at Pratt on February 8, sharing an article on Twitter from The Hollywood Reporter, which noted Pratt had talked “about his spiritual side.”
Page wrote: “Oh. K. Um. But his church is infamously anti lgbtq so maybe address that too?”
In a later tweet, she said: “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.”
Chris Pratt goes to a church with anti-LGBT links
The Lego Movie 2 star responded to Page’s criticism on February 12.
Pratt defended his church saying it “opens their doors to absolutely everyone.”
In 2015, Houston, who is still Hillsong’s senior pastor, came out against same-sex marriage and “a gay lifestyle” in a blog post he wrote in response to the news that two of his congregants were gay.
Houston wrote that he holds “to traditional Christian thought on gay lifestyles and gay marriage. I do believe God’s word is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
He added: “Hillsong Church welcomes ALL people but does not affirm all lifestyles.
“Put clearly, 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.”
