Aaron Rodgers says his and his family’s differing opinions on religion have been one of the biggest points of contention in their relationship over the years.

Rodgers, 41, describes the moment he began questioning his Christian upbringing as a time when he and his family began to grow apart, the NFL quarterback reveals in a new Netflix project about his life.

The documentation, Aaron Rodgers: Puzzlebegan streaming on Netflix on Tuesday. PEOPLE took an in-depth look at the three episodes that examine the New York Jets star’s career and recent controversies — including his conspiratorial criticism of vaccines and ongoing public spats with his immediate family.

In the series’ second episode, Rodgers reflects on his relationships with his parents Ed and Darla and his brothers Jordan and Luke, concluding that their differing views on religion over the years have played a major role in their estrangement.

Rodgers began thinking about religion and leaning more toward spirituality after coming across lectures by religious author and self-proclaimed spiritual teacher Rob Bell, he explains in the documentary.

“I looked into Rob Bell’s work with his NOOMA videos after 2011, which peaked in 2014, and he told the stories of the Bible that I grew up with in a new and interesting way,” says Rodgers and adds that he “made sure he went” to a lecture Bell was hosting in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“He loved everyone and judged no one,” Rodgers says. “The culture I grew up in is black and white. Black and white means you are either this or that. There is no gray area. He was a great help to me in fully decoding the religion of my youth.”

Since then, Rodgers says in the documentary, he “began exploring other ways of thinking and spirituality” and began “reading a lot of different types of books, philosophy books and self-help books,” which helped him “find the courage.” to better express my feelings.”

“I began to defy the institutions of my youth,” Rodgers says. “And that was everything from organized religion, my parents, dogma, ideology, and that definitely changed the dynamics of my family because I just questioned everything.”

Rodgers, who says he went to church every Sunday with his family as a child, criticized organized religion in a 2020 podcast episode with then-girlfriend Danica Patrick, saying it could be used as a “crutch” and “be something “That’s what people need to do.” You need to make them feel better,” especially “about themselves.”

“I don’t know how you can believe in a God who wants to condemn most of the planet to a fiery hell,” Rodgers said at the time. “What kind of loving, sensitive, omnipresent, all-powerful being would want to condemn his beautiful creation to a fiery hell at the end of all this?”

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The comments left his immediate family “dismayed,” an insider told PEOPLE at the time.

“For her, his comments are essentially a slap in the face to the core of her personality,” the source said. “Basically, he’s turning away from everything they’ve taught him.”

The new Netflix project focuses heavily on Rodgers’ spiritual beliefs and practices, including his use of “herbal” medicines like ayahuasca and holistic spiritual journeys, such as a darkness retreat in 2023 where he spent time reflecting on his relationship to think about his family.

“People ask me: Is there hope for reconciliation? I say, ‘Yes, of course, of course,'” Rodgers says of his family elsewhere in the document. “I don’t want them to fail, struggle, have arguments or problems. I wish them no ill will at all. It’s more like this: We are just different steps on the timeline of our own journeys.”

All episodes of Aaron Rodgers: Puzzle are now streaming on Netflix.