Celebrity Scientologists and Stars Who Have Left the Church

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Celebrity Scientologists and Stars Who Have Left the Church

Through the years, the Church of Scientology has recruited countless celebrities to become members. In the 1950s, founder L. Ron Hubbard created what became known as “Project Celebrity,” a written program that offers rewards to Scientologists who bring in some of the biggest names in Hollywood. The controversial religion also operates Celebrity Centres, which are special churches that are open to members of the public but mostly cater to “artists, politicians, leaders of industry, sports figures and anyone with the power and vision to create a better world,” according to the church’s website. Tom Cruise is one of the Church of Scientology’s most well-known members and outspoken advocates. He became involved with the movement — which was formed in 1953 and is headquartered in Riverside County, California — through his first wife, Mimi Rogers. After the couple divorced in 1990, Cruise walked down the aisle twice more, with Nicole Kidman in 1990 and Katie Holmes in 2006. The actor’s affiliation with the church reportedly led to the end of both unions in 2001 and 2012, respectively. Leah Remini was another A-list Scientologist, joining at the age of 9 with her family. She left the organization in 2013 and subsequently launched a campaign to expose its alleged wrongdoings. Remini published a memoir titled Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology in 2015, in which she was highly critical of the church’s practices. The King of Queens alum went on to host and executive produce an A&E series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, which won an Emmy Award in 2017. The Church of Scientology has long denied allegations of any wrongdoing under its roof, most recently in June 2019 when an anonymous woman filed a lawsuit for kidnapping, stalking, human trafficking, false imprisonment, libel, slander, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In response to Jane Doe’s claim that the church “is nothing more than a cult built on mind control,” Scientology’s lawyers told Us Weekly, “The church will vigorously defend itself against these unfounded allegations.” Scroll down to see more celebrity Scientologists and stars who have left the church.

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Tom Cruise

The Top Gun star, who was introduced to the religion by his first wife, Rogers, in 1990, is one of the most famous faces and a top level member of the church. Cruise's involvement in the church was reportedly one of the main reasons his second and third wives, Kidman and Holmes, respectively, filed for divorce.

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Leah Remini

The actress, who was once included on the church's website's list of successful Scientologists, believed for years that her religion was life-changing. "Scientology gives you hope and the certainty that you can improve any condition," she said. "This, to me, is priceless." However, Remini announced that she left the church in July 2013. She later detailed her experiences in a book, Troublemaker, and an acclaimed A&E series, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.

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John Travolta

The Savages actor joined the Church of Scientology in 1975 and is listed as one of most successful Scientologists on the religion's website. "As a Scientologist, I have the technology to handle life's problems and I have used this to help others in life as well," he is quoted as saying on the site. "I would say Scientology put me into the big time."

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Danny Masterson

The Men at Work actor and DJ was raised a Scientologist with his brother, actor Christopher Masterson. "Each service in Scientology is something I have added to my tool box of data for living," Danny is quoted as saying on the church's website. After the That '70s Show alum was charged with three counts of rape in June 2020, Remini tweeted, "This is just the beginning Scientology, your days of getting away with it is coming to an end!" (Danny has denied the allegations.)

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Elisabeth Moss

Although the Mad Men actress doesn't speak about her religion very often, she does comment on its portrayal in the media. "Many of my church's stances and concepts are grossly misunderstood by the media. It's a long list," she said in an interview with The Advocate.

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Kirstie Alley

The former Dancing with the Stars contestant credits the religion for more than just her beliefs. "To tell you the honest-to-God truth: without Scientology, I would be dead," she once said. "So I can personally highly recommend it."

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Giovanni Risbi

Raised a Scientologist along with his sister, Marissa (married to musician Beck, another Scientologist), the Ted actor participated in the gala opening of Scientology's "Psychiatry: An Industry of Death" Museum in December 2005. He noted in a 2016 interview that he has "been a Scientologist all my life."

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Laura Prepon

Having dated her That '70s Show costar and fellow church member Masterson's brother, Christopher, Prepon is a true believer. "Anyone who knows me is just like, 'Wow, if Laura is a Scientologist, then there has to be something to this,'" she once told Women's Health. In a 2015 interview, she said Scientology has made her "more me."

In 2021, however, she realized she had a change of heart, telling People magazine that she hadn’t practiced Scientology in “close to five years.”

“I’m no longer practicing Scientology,” she said. “I’ve always been very open-minded, even since I was a child. I was raised Catholic and Jewish. I’ve prayed in churches, meditated in temples. I’ve studied Chinese meridian theory. …  [Scientology] no longer part of my life.”

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Erika Christensen

"Scientology helps me in acting to focus on communication," the actress once told the New York Daily News. "It's almost a safety precaution when you're an actor, because some people can be traumatized by characters, and I don't have to worry about that. It's a study [that helps] see people as spiritual beings. And in Hollywood, that's more stable than being a hunk of meat."

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Jenna Elfman

During a documentary by A&E Investigative Reports called Inside Scientology, the actress spoke about the church's Celebrity Centre. "The Celebrity Centre is just like … the stable datum of … growth and sanity, and growing as an artist … it's just like I'm always safe when I come here," she said.

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Juliette Lewis

The actress is a devout Scientologist. "I am no longer stuck in the bottomless pit of despair and apathy," she said on the church's site. "Having achieved the state of Clear is the single most important thing that I've done for myself."

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Jason Beghe

The G.I. Jane star started taking Scientology courses in 1994, but he left the church in 2008, calling it “very, very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution.”

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Lisa Marie Presley

The daughter of the late Elvis Presley had been a member since she was a child, but she announced in 2012 that she was stepping away. “I was slowly starting to self-destruct,” she said in an interview.

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Michael Pena

The Crash star became a Scientologist in 2000 and said 16 years later that his involvement with the church made him “a better actor.”