10 Celebrities You NEVER Knew Were Scientologists

It's no wonder why it's oftentimes referred to as the "Hollywood" religion. We all know the most famous and vocal Scientologists: Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Kirstie Alley. And we all know the famous ex-Scientologists: Leah Remini, Paul Haggis and Lisa Marie Presley. 

From the outside, if it sounds like a cult, it's easy to believe, it must be a cult. And with the recent premiere of HBO's 'Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,' the religion is quite the trending topic now. HBO has hired 160 lawyers to help protect itself from the inevitable response and backlash from the church, which has called the disturbing documentary 'propaganda.'

So, which stars are finding happiness within the church's philosophy? Which stars refuse to talk about their personal involvement? How did they find the Church of Scientology? What do they think are the church's biggest misconceptions? We reveal Scientology's most high-profile members.

Photos: PRPhotos

1. Elisabeth Moss

1. Elisabeth Moss. Though affiliated with the church, the Mad Men star doesn't seem to be one that pushes her religion onto others. She rarely talks about it with anyone, let alone the press. "I'm not going to talk about it anymore," she said in March 2014. "I said what it meant to me and anyone can go and look at that if they want to know what I feel. But now it's private, off limits." 

But she gets the controversy surrounding it because it's not an easy religion to understand. "I think if there was something that I didn't know and didn't understand, I would probably feel as opinionated. You know how you’re opinionated about when someone breaks up? Celebrities break up and you just feel like you know what happened?"

2. Jason Lee

2. Jason Lee. As a requirement for their marriage, Jason Lee pushed ex-wife Carmen Llywellyn into the religion. "His message was that if I didn't join, I wasn't going to be with him," she said. "So I joined, but it was like a cult and I foolishly allowed it to take root in me." The couple split in 2001, and Carmen was relieved to break free.

"Scientology threatened my spiritual health, saying that I'd lose all my friends," she said. "Scientologists followed me down the street. They took pictures of my kids. They'd stake out my house, wait until we came out and follow us. They came looking for me to scare me. I was nearly suicidal." Scary stuff.

3. Beck

3. Beck. After years of refusing to talk about his connection to the church, the Grammy winner finally opened about his religion in 2012. He didn't find the church on his own; his father was involved in Scientology since before he was born. He said some people do yoga, some meditate, everyone has their own thing. "Everybody is trying to figure out a way to deal with their issues and things that are unresolved. I mean, some things just don’t resolve. But whatever’s going to get you through. That’s my feeling about it," he said.

4. Giovanni Ribisi

4. Giovanni Ribisi. The actor is much more passive about practicing his religion than his fellow celebrity scientologists. He has not progressed very far up 'the Bridge,' or the various states of existence available within the church. So for members like Giovanni, while he can deny certain rumors plaguing the church, he does so only because he hasn't been exposed to those.

For example, alien mythology is a part of the church. Ribisi’s response to that claim? "OK, that whole ten percent thing, the whole thing — I have never ever heard of aliens in Scientology, and I’ve been a Scientologist all my life," he said. "And I’ve done a lot of courses and a lot ... I have never heard of aliens in Scientology. Never, no please."

5. Jenna Elfman

5. Jenna Elfman. Yup, even free-spirited Dharma was secretly a Scientologist. She credits the church for helping her sustain a successful marriage with actor Bodhi Elfman and they’re celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. "Scientology gives us tools of communication and understanding and humanity so we can live more peacefully and happily with each other," she said.

6. Laura Prepon

6. Laura Prepon. The OITNB actress has been a Scientologist since 1999. Last year, she was hit with endless rumors that she was dating the most famous Scientologist of them all: Tom Cruise. "It's just so funny that when people don't know, they just make stuff up, [like], apparently I'm dating Tom Cruise right now. And apparently he doesn't want me doing the show because I portray a lesbian and I'm a Scientologist," she said. "This is false; where are they even getting this stuff? It's unbelievable to me."

7. Juliette Lewis

7. Juliette Lewis. When asked about the misconceptions about her religion, Juliette didn't hold back. "I'll get all conspiratorial on you, and I'm just going to throw this out: The mainstream media is funded by pharmaceutical companies, so when you have the biggest movie star in the world at the time — Tom Cruise — coming out against anti-depressants and Ritalin and just saying, "Hey, why don't you put a warning label on there?" The thing about Scientology is it is anti-drug in that you’re seeking relationship or communication tools — simple basics on how to live better. So, when Tom came out about that, I’ve never seen someone get torn down so hard and they still brutalize him with Scientology pieces to this day. It's a religious philosophy and self-help movement. And you'll never see a truthful word written about it in mainstream media."

I'll just leave that there for you to digest however you'd like.

8. Erika Christensen

8. Erika Christensen. The Parenthood actress has been a member for her entire life. Her parents introduced it to her and she plans to do the same when she has kids. "I would expose to them, like, this is what I do, which is how my parents did it, because my parents are Scientologists," she said. "If I had to sum it up, the goal of Scientology is giving the person back to themselves. Like, your own power of choice."

9 and 10. Chris and Danny Masterson

9 and 10. Chris and Danny Masterson. The brothers grew up with Scientology as kids in NY. Their parents introduced them to the religious philosophy, as Danny calls it. He also believes Scientology is a better way to spend your money than going to college. "Most of the courses cost 20, 50 bucks," he said. "If you can't afford to go sit in a room and have someone who's trained in that course give you the lessons and help you study and learn it, then I don't know what to say. I mean, it's cheaper than college. You could argue how expensive college is and then the debt for the next 10 years — and then how often do you use all of that information? I feel like I got the better end of the deal on that one."