Melissa Joan Hart admits Hollywood can be 'a little scary'

NEW YORK (Christian Examiner) – Hollywood can be "a little scary sometimes" for Christians who are in the entertainment business, actress Melissa Joan Hart said during an interview with Fox News Jan. 6.

The actress, formerly the star of Sabrina: The Teenage Witch and Melissa & Joey, is starring in the highly anticipated film, God's Not Dead 2, which opens April 1. The story follows a respected high school teacher, Grace Wesley, whose job is threatened when she honestly answers a question about her faith in Jesus Christ.

In that sense, there is little difference between the role Hart is playing and the life of a Hollywood actress who also happens to be a Christian.

"These days, it's a talent to be politically correct," Hart told Fox News. "I find that as long as I don't care what other people think and I stand by my values, it doesn't matter what other people say. People are going to argue with me no matter if I say something controversial or not. I'm going to ignore them because I have every right to say what I want to say and put out there what I feel."

"I don't judge others and I'm definitely not trying to hurt anyone's feelings. As far as my faith, I think it is important to share that those are my values and I'm going to use them to guide them through life and I'm not going to steer away from it. It's part of who I am," Hart said.

God's Not Dead 2 takes place in the fictional town of Hope Springs, home to Hadleigh University and Martin Luther King Jr. High School where Hart's character, Grace, is a teacher. In the course of the film, Grace counsels a student grieving the loss of her brother. Their conversation turns to matters of eternity and faith in Jesus Christ, the source of her love for her students.

Grace's faith is challenged publicly when news of the conversation reaches the principal and the district superintendent. They are joined by what producers of the film called a "zealous civil liberties group" – in the pattern of the ACLU – in trying to remove all discussion of God from the classroom.

God's Not Dead 2 also stars Jesse Metcalfe (Dallas), Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters), Robin Givens (Head of the Class), the late Fred Thompson (Law and Order), Pat Boone and Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, Robocop). Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also makes a guest appearance in the film.