11 Celebrities Who Used To Be Scientologists

Once a scientologist, not always a scientologist.

Scientology’s a controversial religion that was developed in the 1950s and made famous by its celebrity members, like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Over the years, a slew of stars have taken up the religion, recruiting their celebrity friends along the way.

Although the church of Scientology has a lot of famous members, there are also quite a few who have decided to leave it behind. Some just didn’t feel like it was a right fit for them, while some were completely against its practices.

Leah Remini

Remini is now one of the most outspoken ex-Scientologists around. The former “The King of Queens” actress held a spot in the church of Scientology for over 30 years before leaving in 2013, and is now actively shining a light on the religion in her A&E series “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.”

Recently, Remini told People Magazine that the church had wanted her to convert her co-star Kevin James to the religion, but she refused.

Lisa Marie Presley

After practicing Scientology for years, Presley decided it was no longer right for her and felt that she “was slowly starting to self-destruct,” according to an interview with USA Today in 2012.

Nicole Kidman

During her marriage to major Scientology member, Cruise, Kidman joined the church, but later left after their marriage ended. The actress doesn’t speak out about the religion because her children are still members.

Katie Holmes

Just like with Kidman, Holmes became a member once she married Cruise, but decided to leave the church after she left her marriage.

Jerry Seinfeld

While not a full-fledged member, Seinfeld was interested in learning more about Scientology and decided to take courses on the religion before making the decision that it wasn’t something he wanted to pursue further.

Candice Bergen

The “Murphy Brown” star was one of the original celebrity names associated with the church. She joined and left in the 1960s before it became the well-known religion that it is now.

Jason Beghe

Beghe, like Remini, has also been very vocal about the religion after leaving the church in 2007. He released a video, denouncing the religion as nothing more than a “rip-off.”

Christopher Reeve

Reeve’s association with Scientology was very brief when he was 22. He took an assessment and was told he should begin Scientology classes, but after only a few lessons he became skeptical and chose to cut ties.

Jeffrey Tambor

No longer a Scientologist, the “Transparent” star did take classes for awhile and holds no strong opposing feelings towards the religion, but just simply felt it wasn’t right for him.

Paul Haggis

Director and screenwriter Haggis left the church in 2009 with a lengthy letter that became available to the public to read. He disagreed with a lot of the church’s views on rights of individuals and made sure they knew it in the letter.

Diana Canova

A member of the church of Scientology for seven years before gaining fame on “Soap,” Canova finally left after putting fear to the side and choosing to move on with her life.