Without playing both back to back to fact check, can I say that to the best of my recollection Denny of the Mama Papas sang "got down on my knees and I began to pray" while Barry sings "got down on my knees and I PRETEND to pray"? So this is the atheist version?
I notice that the first 2 lines of the "stop into a church" verse has the girls (Mamas) repeating them, whereas their own version they took them out. A good move, it works. Nice to hear them here though.
Barry is a great singer and he does his own version of this.... but I think the Mamas and the Papas nailed it.... them and of course Bobby Womack who would never sing about pretending to pray that would upset his mama. Muscle Scholes was a special place! I believe Duane Allman was key in the Womack cover... you know that hippie kid who put up a tent in the parking lot!