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Aaron Rodgers Reveals How Questioning Christianity Strained His Family Relationships: 'The Culture I Grew Up...'
Aaron Rodgers opens up about how questioning his Christian upbringing impacted his relationship with his family in his new Netflix docuseries. Here's everything you need to know.
NFL star Aaron Rodgers has opened up about the impact of his spiritual journey on his family relationships. In his new Netflix docuseries, Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, the quarterback discusses how questioning his Christian upbringing has influenced his bond with his parents and siblings.
The three-episode series, now streaming, explores Rodgers’ career, controversies, and personal life, including his ongoing estrangement from his family. In the second episode of the docuseries, Rodgers delves into his family dynamics, revealing that differing opinions about religion have been a major sticking point over the years.
Rodgers talks about how he began to stand up to institutions of his youth, including organized religion, his parents, dogma, and ideology, and how this impacted the dynamics of his family since he was just questioning everything.
Rodgers recalls growing up attending church every Sunday with his family, describing the experience as deeply rooted in a black-and-white worldview. His shift in perspective began after discovering the work of spiritual author Rob Bell.
Rodgers shares that he got into Rob Bell’s work with his NOOMA videos after 2011, culminating in 2014. He added that he retold the stories of the Bible in a new and interesting way, that he loved everybody, and that he didn’t judge people. Bell’s teachings inspired Rodgers to explore alternative approaches to faith.
Rodgers says that he was a big help to him in totally unraveling the religion of his youth, saying, “The culture I grew up in is black and white. Black and white is you’re either this or you’re that. There’s no grey area. He was a big help for me to totally unravel the religion of my youth.” He also added that his journey included reading books on philosophy, self-help, and spirituality.
Aaron Rodgers has previously voiced his disapproval of organized religion. In a 2020 podcast with then-girlfriend Danica Patrick, Rodgers called religion a crutch and questioned the concept of a God who condemns people to eternal punishment.
“I don’t know how you can believe in a God who wants to condemn most of the planet to a fiery hell,” he said. “What type of loving, sensitive, omnipresent, omnipotent being wants to condemn his beautiful creation to a fiery hell at the end of all this?”
These comments reportedly left his family disheartened. At the time, a source told PEOPLE that his comments were a slap in the face to the fundamentals of who they are. They added that he was basically turning his back on everything they had taught him.
Despite their difficulties, Rodgers hopes for mending within his family. When people ask him if there is a chance for reconciliation, he responds positively. He does not want them to fail, struggle, or experience any strife or problems. He has no ill intent against them.
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