Celebrities in the Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology boasts many elite, Hollywood celebrity members. It is both a magnet for celebrities and actively recruits celebrity members to help spread its message.

Celebrities Create a Stir about Scientology and Attract Common People to the Church.

You may be surprised to discover a number of celebrities among adherents to the Church of Scientology.

Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley credits the Church of Scientology for saving her life. She was a cocaine addict in college and says that scientology helped her overcome her cocaine addiction. (I guess they couldn't help with the food addiction.) Alley also says she has made some of her most amazing decisions at Scientology summits.

John Travolta
John Travolta was a high-school dropout making his first movie when he was introduced to Scientology. He was given a copy of L. Ron Hubbard's best selling book "Dianetics." Later, Travolta explained that his career took off because of scientology. According to a church publication Travolta said, "Scientology put me into the big time."

According to The New Yorker article a former seeker at the Church of Scientology, Josh Brolin, avers that he once saw Travolta practicing the principles of the belief system. Though denied by Travolta's attorneys, Brolin says that he was once at a dinner party in Los Angeles with Travolta and Marlon Brando. Brandon arrived with an injury to his leg he received when helping a stranded motorist on the Pacific Coast Highway. Travolta offered to help based on his achievements in Scientology. Travolta administered a touch to Brando's leg to which Brando responded that it was actually helping his leg. Brolin was a little freaked out by the whole incident and never found the beliefs and teachings of the Church of Scientology palatable.

Deborah Rennard
Deborah Rennard was a long time member of the Church of Scientology but has in recent years left the Church. Deborah played J.R.'s secretary on the popular 80's TV drama "Dalas." She grew up in the Church of Scientology and joined the Church herself at the age of 17. She studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, a facility for young actors who were often taken under their wing, and according to Haggis report, were tutored in the ways of Scientology. There she met and fell into a 6 year relationship with acting coach Milton Katselas.

Mimi Rogers introduced husband Tom Cruise to the Church
Tom Cruise has said that he was introduced to the Church in 1986 by his first wife, Mimi Rogers. Rogers denies any connection with the Church, but Tom Cruise has become one of Scientology's most well-known and ardent spokespersons. He revealed in an interview with Barbara Walters that Scientology helped him overcome dyslexia.

Cruise has gone so far as to erect a tent on the set of "The War of the Worlds" from which Scientology literature was distributed.

Cruise is joined in the Church by his current wife, Katie Holmes. Church leader David Miscavige stood as best man at Tom and Katie's wedding .

Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston is known for her roles in movies like "Jerry Maguire," "Citizen Ruth," and "Twins." Preston, like many other actors, was introduced to Scientology through her acting class. She felt her work validated under this particular instructor and wanted more of what he had to offer, which came from the teaching of Dianetics. She began with auditing which is a type of spiritual counsel in the world of Scientology. She then did a "Purification Rundown" to rid her body of toxins, residual drugs, even sunburns. (Weird, huh?)

Jenna and Bodhi Elfman
Jenna (star of "Dharma and Greg") and Bodhi Elfman made their support of Scientology openly when Indie film director John Roecker was accosted by the pair. Roecker reported to TMZ that he was walking to his car when the couple approached him and accused him of making fun of their religion. He was sporting a Church that essentially, using photos of Tom Cruise and John Travolta asserted that "Scientology is Gay!" Roecker exacerbated the circumstance when he began to harangue the Scientology tenets such as one of the foundational stories of the despot Xenu, part of the story of the origin of earth from a confederation of other worlds.

Jason Lee
Jason Lee, of my the TV sitcom "My Name is Earl," is a relatively low level Scientologist, compared to the likes of Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, and John Travolta. He has completed some of the early stages of development as prescribed by Dianetics and has done the "Purification Rundown" twice. His activism on behalf of Scientology is in conjunction with efforts by Scientology to undermine and thwart the practice of psychology.

Greta Van Susteran
Greta Van Susteran, host of "On the Record with Greta Van Susteran," once told the Washington Post that she was a Scientologist because she liked their ethics. Ethics in scientology means to get the job done apply the techniques of Scientology. Unlike other celebrities Greta keeps a lower profile about her connections with the Church.

Leah Remini
According to Leah Remini, star of TV sitcom "King of Queens" and current co-host of "The Talk," credits Scientology with her success. Remini has said "Scientology has been my road out. There is nothing about my life that I feel apathetic or unhappy about." She considers her training through the Church priceless. (But can she really believe the story of Xanu?)

feel apathetic or unhappy about. Scientology gives you hope and the certainty that you can improve any condition. This, to me, is priceless

Lisa Marie Presley
Lisa Marie Presley is an outspoken proponent of Scientology and what she terms the "technology" of Dianetics. Presley has said, "Were it not for Scientology, I would either be completely insane or dead by now. I am forever grateful for the technology of Scientology and to Mr. Hubbard..." Following the tragic death of John Travolta and Kelly Preston's son Jett. Presley used her MySpace page to support the family and the beliefs about Scientology which she shared with the family.

Will Smith
Will Smith became known as a Scientologist when in 2008. When the set wrapped the filming of "Hancock" Smith gave out cards good for a free personality test at a Scientology center. Smith is also said to be big buddies with Tom Cruise, one of the best known celebrity proponents of Scientology.

Smith once compared Scientology to the Christian Bible. A retort that was not well received by Christians.

Smith is said never to have joined the Church and although he has made appearances at Scientology functions in 2010 he dropped the Church of Scientology from his charitable contributions.

If Smith continues his association with the Church of Scientology it is only a small stretch from his gig in "Men in Black."

Why are so many celebrities attracted to the Church of Scientology?
The Church of Scientology has special centers located throughout the world known as Celebrity Centres. The main campus of the Celebrity Centre is in Hollywood, with satellites in Paris, Vienna, Dusseldorf, Munich, Florence, London, New York, Las Vegas, and Nashville. But what does Scientology offer celebrities and why do they work so hard to proselytize celebrity adherents?

The Church deliberately courts celebrities to bring them into the fold. Within a year of the Church's founding a publication associated with the Church urged the cultivation of celebrities in the Church to help promote the teachings and beliefs of Scientology.

Many Hollywood celebrities are drawn to the Church by friends and acquaintances in the business. It is an organization that helps actors , producers, screenwriters and others to realize their fullest potential . As such it is an attractive place to make connections, although adherents to scientology would call people who use the church in such a manner hypocrites. Nonetheless, it does provide valuable connections for celebrities. That is, until they are told to break off connections with people in their life who oppressive.

According to The New Yorker, celebrities are crucial to the Church of Scientology. They create an intense interest in the church and attract seekers who are looking for a way to excel in their own life. Scientology promotes itself as having the means by which to obtain mental and emotional mastery through a variety of levels that sound like something out of a science fiction novel - Wait, they are out of L. Ron Hubbard's writings.

FBI Investigates the Church of Scientology
Recently it has been exposed that the FBI is investigating the Church of Scientology based on allegations of human trafficking and enslavement. A 26 page article in a February issue of The New Yorker alleges that those who have fled the Church report the abuses . Specific to the article in The New Yorker is Paul Haggis a well-known Hollywood screenwriter.

It is alleged that young adherents of Scientology have been forced to work at menial, manual labor for little or no pay, interred in "re-education" camps when they attempted to separate from the church, and that certain members have suffered physical violence at the hands of David Miscavige , the head of the Church of Scientology.

Just because the Church attracts celebrities it doesn't raise the organization above current suspicions, and the strange mixture of religion, technology, and alien beliefs makes for one strange religious organization.