Pop singer Madonna Thursday defended staging a mock crucifixion during her record-breaking "Confessions" world tour, saying it was not "anti-Christian, sacrilegious or blasphemous"--but a plea for people to help one another.

Several religious groups, including the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, have complained that the scene was insulting and NBC television is trying to decide whether to include it in a special to air in November.

Madonna, in a statement made as the "Confessions Tour" ended in Japan Thursday, said: "There seems to be many misinterpretations about my appearance on the cross and I wanted to explain it myself once and for all.

"It is no different than a person wearing a cross or 'taking up the cross' as it says in the Bible. My performance is neither anti-Christian, sacrilegious, or blasphemous. Rather, it is my plea to the audience to encourage mankind to help one another and to see the world as a unified whole."

She added, "I believe in my heart that if Jesus were alive today he would be doing the same thing."

The 48-year-old entertainer has made the crucifixion scene, in which she performs while suspended on a giant cross wearing a crown of thorns, the centerpiece of her show. Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox church leaders say it is blasphemous.

In her statement, Madonna said the specific intent of the scene was "to bring attention to the millions of children in Africa who are dying every day [or] are living without care, without medicine and without hope. I am asking people to open their hearts and minds to get involved in whatever way they can."

A spokeswoman for NBC television said earlier this week that the General Electric Co.-owned unit had not yet decided whether to include the scene in its November special.

But TV Guide magazine Thursday quoted NBC entertainment chief Kevin Reilly as saying that it probably would be in the show because Madonna felt strongly about it.

The "Confessions Tour" is the highest-grossing tour ever by a female artist, bringing in $193.7 million from 60 shows that drew nearly 1.2 million fans, venue management company Live Nation said this week.

That gross narrowly puts Madonna over Cher's benchmark of $192.5 million for the 273 shows between June 2002 and April 2005 on what was billed as her "Farewell Tour."