Kathie Lee Gifford spent 60 years telling America to have faith in Jesus.
She's been on morning television preaching Scripture since most pastors were in seminary.
But this week she said something about churches that's making religious leaders across the country very, very uncomfortable – and your pastor probably doesn't want you to hear it.
Hollywood Star's Anti-Religion Statement Has Church Leaders Fuming
Gifford sat down with Fox News to talk about her charity work with abused children.
What came out of her mouth wasn't the typical Christian celebrity talking points.
"Religion puts people in chains," the 72-year-old declared. "Jesus takes them away."
Then she dropped the bomb that's been building for six decades: "I am very anti-religion."
The woman who's been preaching Jesus on Live with Regis and the Today show for decades just declared war on religion.
And she's not backing down.
Christian Faith vs. Religious Control: What She's Actually Fighting
Here's what Gifford understands that most church-going Christians have felt but couldn't articulate: there's a massive difference between following Jesus and following religious systems built by men.
The rules. The rituals. The religious customs designed to control people.
That's what she's fighting.
Gifford studies Scripture in original Greek and Hebrew because English translations have been corrupted by centuries of religious agendas pushing institutional power over biblical truth.
She refuses to use scripts when speaking because she trusts the Holy Spirit to guide her words instead of following religious formulas that dead pastors wrote generations ago.
She told Fox News she doesn't "separate the secular from the spiritual" because every moment of life should be walking with God – not checking boxes at Sunday service to satisfy church requirements.
And she's absolutely convinced that living like Jesus means rejecting the religious systems that would have crucified Him.
Because here's the part that's going to make people mad: the most religious people in Jesus's time – the Pharisees who had Scripture memorized, followed every rule, ran the entire religious establishment – were the ones who murdered God when He showed up because He threatened their power.
Hollywood Celebrities Fighting Church Legalism: The Pattern Nobody's Connecting
Gifford isn't alone in this fight.
Chris Pratt told Men's Health in 2022: "Religion has been oppressive as hell for a long time. I'm not a religious person."
The Guardians of the Galaxy star explained there's a difference between following God and following man-made church rules designed "to control people, to take money from people, to abuse children, to steal land, to justify hatred."
Kirk Cameron walked away from Hollywood fame to follow Jesus – but outside traditional religious structures that told him he couldn't work in entertainment.
Denzel Washington preaches about relationship with God but keeps his distance from religious systems that would try to control his message.
The pattern is undeniable: the Christians who stay loudest about their faith are the ones most critical of organized religion.
They're not attacking Christianity.
They're attacking the institutions that hijacked it.
Megachurch Pastor Scandals Prove Her Point About Religious Abuse
Gifford told Fox News something that should shake every religious institution to its core: "I don't care what people think. I care what He thinks."
She's been saying this for 60 years, but it's landing differently now because millions of Christians are walking away from church using the exact same language.
When the beloved Christian TV host tells you religion puts people in chains while Jesus sets them free, she's not being dramatic.
She's describing what happens when religious leaders prioritize their authority over God's truth.
When rules matter more than relationship.
When protecting the institution matters more than protecting the abused.
This past year brought wave after wave of pastor resignations across the country – sexual assault charges in Texas, financial fraud in Michigan, abuse cover-ups from Florida to Kentucky.
These weren't random bad actors.
These were religious leaders operating inside systems designed to protect their power while preying on the vulnerable.
Relationship With God vs. Church Scandal Cover-Ups
Gifford's been fighting child abuse through Childhelp since 1996, and she told Fox News she gets "actually furious" when people hurt children because abuse "robs a child of their whole life."
The connection should terrify every church leader: she's spent three decades cleaning up the destruction caused by religious institutions that prioritize their reputation over protecting the most vulnerable.
She knows what happens when churches choose control over compassion.
She's seen the wreckage left by pastors who use God's name to manipulate, abuse, and destroy lives while hiding behind religious authority.
Gifford didn't leave Christianity – she left religious boxes that tried to contain it.
She believes every moment should be "nonstop prayer, nonstop conversation" with God, not scheduled church services checking religious boxes.
The religious establishment hated Jesus for defending the powerless and calling out corrupt religious authorities.
Today's religious leaders aren't handling Gifford's message any better.
But she's been in Hollywood for 60 years telling people Jesus is real while many churches are corrupt systems designed to control them.
She's not stopping now.
Why She'll Keep Fighting
Gifford's emceeing Childhelp's charity gala on Valentine's Day – fighting to rescue children from abuse while simultaneously declaring she's "very anti-religion."
She knows that following Jesus means loving the broken, defending the powerless, and speaking truth to corrupt religious authorities who use God's name to hurt people.
The Pharisees couldn't handle Jesus eating with sinners, touching lepers, defending prostitutes, and calling out religious leaders for their hypocrisy.
They believed they were protecting God's truth by enforcing strict rules and maintaining institutional control.
They convinced themselves that killing Jesus was defending the faith.
The same pattern plays out in churches today – leaders who believe they're serving God while building kingdoms for themselves, protecting their power while claiming to protect doctrine, abusing the vulnerable while hiding behind religious authority.
Millions of Christians who've felt trapped by religious systems that claim to represent Jesus are finally hearing someone with her platform say what they've known in their hearts all along.
Following Christ and following corrupt religious institutions are two completely different things.
Gifford's been preaching that message since she was 12 years old.
And she's going to die preaching it too.
Sources:
- Christina Dugan Ramirez, "Kathie Lee Gifford explains why she's 'anti-religion' despite her deep Christian faith," Fox News, February 13, 2026.
- Kathie Lee Gifford, "How Billy Graham Led Me to Christ," Christianity Today, March 2016.
- Chris Pratt interview, Men's Health, July 2022.
- "Church scandals, allegations of rape and molestation, offer valuable lessons," Washington Times, August 3, 2024.