Chris Rock has his own set of requirements for the afterlife. And they don't include floating raiment, harps or long white beards.

"I don't want to go to heaven if it ain't funny," says the hot-hot-hot comic who costars with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in Dogma. "I don't see heaven as a bunch of comedy clubs, but I do see it as a lot of people laughing."

Rock has two words for critics of the controversial movie whose per-screen average beat out every wide release last weekend except the indomitable Pokémon: lighten up! "I grew up in an area of Brooklyn where there are more churches per square mile than any place in the world. There were a lot churches but no sign of God ... My grandfather is a preacher but he also fooled around and cussed a lot. I believe in God, I just don't believe in religion and that's what our movie says."

The Lethal Weapon 4 star says he lobbied hard for his role as Rufus, Dogma's apocryphal 13th Apostle who enlists two scruffy prophets and the great grand niece of Jesus Christ to thwart the plans of two rebel angels.

"I was really hot. The head honchos at Miramax called me in to offer me a movie. I was really excited until they told me it was about a busload of rappers," recalls the comic.

"I told them I wanted to be part of a Kevin Smith movie. Kevin's movies, like Chasing Amy, had really spoken to me. I've been in love with girls of reputation and I definitely didn't handle it right, and that movie hit home."

"Kevin and I hit it off immediately and he tailored the role of the 13th Apostle for me."