Spanish TV station labels Hillsong church as a 'hipster cult'
Hillsong, an evangelical megachurch founded in Sydney Australia, has been labeled by a private TV channel in Spain as a "hipster cult" in a recent report about its worship services.
On Aug. 6, Spanish TV station La Sexta released its report about Hillsong, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary in Spain.
According to Evangelical Focus, the La Sexta news program, which targets a young audience, introduced Hillsong under the title "the hipster cult" and accused the church of "recruiting thousands" with the aim of earning money. The journalistic piece quoted a critic who compared Hillsong to the Church of Scientology.
"They [Hillsong Spain] aim to collect money for some specific leaders, in this they resemble Scientology, a group that works exactly in the same way as these people," said Daniel Lorenzo, who was presented as an "expert."
Lorenzo reportedly did not provide any evidence to back his claim, and no representative of Hillsong was given the chance to respond to his accusation.
The report also presented Hillsong's "conservative view of marriage and sexuality" as something that makes the denomination unique, even though the Roman Catholic Church and almost all Protestant churches in Spain hold to the same views of biblical marriage.
Evangelical Focus noted that La Sexta did not correct the information in the report despite criticisms from evangelical Christians on social media. The TV station instead published a second report using specific quotes of an interview with pastor Juan Mejias of Hillsong Barcelona to come up with alleged "commandments" for Hillsong members. The report also claimed that Hillsong sees itself as "the answer to all the problems" of Spain.
Hillsong, founded by Pastor Brian Houston, along with his wife Bobbie Houston, follows the general principles of Pentecostal Christianity, which means that it believes the Bible to be authoritative and final on all matters of faith. "Hillsong is a church that believes in Jesus, a church that loves God and people." the church's website states.
The megachurch reportedly believes that homosexuality is against the teachings of the Bible, but it does not condemn gay people.
Hillsong, which is known for its appeal to young people, is based in Sydney, but it has 80 affiliated churches across the globe, including in Johannesburg, Kiev, Stockholm, London, New York and Los Angeles.
Celebrities who have voiced their support for Hillsong or have attended the church's ceremonies include Kourtney Kardashian, Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber.