Anna Faris Says She ‘Challenges’ 14-Year-Old Son Jack as He Explores Religion and Faith

Anna Faris is opening up about the thoughtful — and sometimes challenging — conversations she has been having with her 14-year-old son, Jack, as he develops his own religious beliefs.

During an appearance on comedian Chelsea Handler’s Dear Chelsea podcast on Thursday, Aug. 20, the Scary Movie actress revealed that Jack has become religious even though she herself did not grow up in a religious household.

Rather than avoiding the subject or simply agreeing with everything her son believes, Faris said she tries to encourage him to think critically about faith, morality and the contradictions he may encounter along the way.

“He is religious. I didn’t grow up with religion,” Faris, 49, told Handler.

According to Faris, Jack has even asked his mother to accept Jesus Christ as her savior.

Faris said she responded by telling him that she would do almost anything for him, including considering what he was asking, but that such a decision would require extensive conversations between them.

“I told him I would do anything for him, including this, but it’s going to take a whole lot of long conversations,” she explained.

Faris Says Jack Is Emotionally ‘Solid’

Jack, whom Faris shares with her former husband Chris Pratt, appears to be comfortable discussing difficult subjects with his mother.

Faris described her son as emotionally resilient, saying he is “as solid as a tugboat.”

“He just doesn’t get easily jarred,” she said. “He handles situations really well.”

That emotional stability, Faris explained, is one reason she feels comfortable challenging some of Jack’s opinions instead of treating religion as a subject that should never be questioned.

The actress said she deliberately raises complicated moral and social issues with him to see how he thinks through them.

“He’s impressive, actually. Because I try to challenge him,” Faris said.

One example involves conversations about abortion.

Faris recalled asking Jack whether he believes being pro-life could, in some situations, be a position made easier by personal privilege or circumstances.

“Do you think it’s a luxury that you get to be pro-life? Do you think that’s kind of a luxury?” she remembered asking him.

According to Faris, Jack responded simply: “Maybe.”

For Faris, however, the goal does not appear to be forcing her son to abandon his beliefs. Instead, she seems focused on encouraging him to examine why he believes what he believes and to recognize complexities within religious communities.

They Also Discuss Religious Hypocrisy

Another topic Faris has brought up with Jack involves powerful religious leaders.

She recalled asking him about a megachurch pastor whom she characterized as behaving like a “grifter.”

“What do you think of this mega pastor that’s kind of a grifter?” Faris said she asked.

Jack apparently had a strong response.

“Oh, mega pastors are the worst,” he told her.

Faris joked that his answer made her feel that he was “getting there.”

More seriously, she said she appreciates the way her son is beginning to recognize contradictions and hypocrisy while still exploring his faith.

“I’m appreciative that he’s examining religion the way he is in terms of recognizing hypocrisy, starting to recognize hypocrisy,” she explained.

She also said she values the fact that the two of them are able to discuss these subjects at length rather than allowing differences in belief to create distance between them.

“I’m appreciative that we can have these long conversations,” Faris said.

Faris Shares Jack With Chris Pratt

Faris and Chris Pratt married in 2009 and welcomed Jack in 2012.

They named their son after Faris’ father.

The couple announced their separation in 2017 and later divorced, but both have continued to raise Jack while moving forward with new chapters in their personal lives.

Pratt later married Katherine Schwarzenegger in 2019.

The couple now share three children: daughters Lyla and Eloise, and son Ford.

Faris also remarried.

She wed cinematographer Michael Barrett in July 2021, becoming a stepmother to his daughter Margot.

Despite having two well-known actors as parents, Jack has generally been kept away from intense public attention.

Faris and Pratt have rarely shared extensive details about his private life, although both have occasionally discussed parenting and their son in interviews.

Jack Recently Joined His Mother on the Red Carpet

Jack has also made several public appearances as he has grown older.

In June, he joined Faris for the red carpet premiere of Scary Movie.

The appearance became a family occasion, with Faris’ husband Michael Barrett and his daughter Margot also attending.

Faris appeared on the carpet wearing a black sequined halterneck dress featuring side cutouts.

Jack wore a traditional black suit paired with a white dress shirt.

The appearance provided a relatively rare public glimpse of the teenager, whom Faris has otherwise largely allowed to grow up outside the spotlight.

Faris Previously Praised Jack for Being ‘Down-to-Earth’

Faris has spoken before about how impressed she is with her son’s personality.

During an interview with PEOPLE in March 2025, she said she felt “so lucky” that Jack had developed into such a grounded young person despite growing up around Hollywood.

She described him as having a remarkably strong emotional foundation.

“He’s always had such a solid anchor,” she said at the time.

Faris acknowledged that she sometimes struggles to understand exactly where that quality came from.

“I don’t know where, being a kid in Hollywood, he got that,” she said. “I don’t know how he got so down-to-earth, but I’m really grateful.”

Her latest remarks suggest that the same qualities she admired when Jack was younger are now shaping increasingly mature discussions between mother and son.

A Mother Encouraging Her Son to Ask Questions

Faris’ comments also highlight a parenting approach based on open disagreement rather than automatic agreement.

Although Jack’s religious beliefs differ from the environment in which his mother was raised, Faris does not appear to view those differences as a problem.

Instead, she is encouraging him to explore his beliefs while also questioning the institutions, public figures and moral arguments connected to them.

Her examples show that their conversations can extend well beyond basic questions about whether someone believes in God. They include discussions about abortion, religious leadership, hypocrisy and the responsibilities that come with holding strong moral convictions.

At the same time, Faris emphasized that Jack seems capable of handling those debates without becoming overwhelmed.

That appears to be one of the qualities she admires most about him.

Her description of him as emotionally steady, difficult to rattle and willing to consider opposing viewpoints suggests that their conversations about religion are part of a larger effort to help him develop his own worldview.

For Faris, the fact that Jack is religious appears to matter less than the way he approaches religion.

She may not share all of his beliefs, but she said she is proud to see him examining them rather than accepting every religious message without question.

And although the two may continue to disagree on certain issues, Faris appears grateful that their differences have created opportunities for deeper conversations instead of conflict.

As Jack continues growing into adulthood, Faris’ comments suggest that she intends to keep doing what she has already been doing: asking difficult questions, listening carefully to his answers and giving her son room to decide for himself what he ultimately believes.