Brad PittBrad Pitt has revealed he broke free from the Southern Baptist religion of his upbringing when he started college because he realised God was all about ego and he thought it was more important to live according to his belief in himself.

He told Parade magazine recently: “I didn’t understand this idea of a God who says, ‘You have to acknowledge me. You have to say that I’m the best, and then I’ll give you eternal happiness. If you won’t, then you don’t get it!’”

“It seemed to be about ego. I can’t see God operating from ego, so it made no sense to me.”

“I had crises of faith. I’d go to Christian revivals and be moved by the Holy Spirit, and I’d go to rock concerts and feel the same fervor. Then I’d be told, ‘That’s the Devil’s music! Don’t partake in that!’ I wanted to experience things religion said not to experience.”

He added that moving away from religion was a good thing for him: “When I got untethered from the comfort of religion, it wasn’t a loss of faith for me, it was a discovery of self. I have faith that I’m capable enough to handle any situation.”

“I know there’s comfort there [in religion], a crash pad. It’s something to explain the world and tell you there is something bigger than you, and it is going to be all right in the end.”

“[But] what’s important to me is that I’ve defined my beliefs and lived according to them and not betrayed them. One of those is my belief in family. I still have faith in that.”