Tom Cruise has been one of the most popular actors for decades and remains popular with the public.
However, he has also long been noted for being one of the most important and famous members of the Church of Scientology. Apparently, his close relationship with this religion has brought a few problems to his life, mainly affecting two of his most notorious relationships.
Tom Cruise and his controversial relationship with Scientology
The Church of Scientology has several influential and popular members, one of the most notable being Tom Cruise and celebrities such as John Travolta have also been included. Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices spread by the American L. Ron Hubbard, who in addition to founding this religion dedicated himself to writing science fiction stories professionally.
The central belief of the Church of Scientology is based on the fact that the human being is an immortal spiritual being called tethan, a resident of the physical body; They believe that physical bodies are only essentially “rented” and not owned.
As Daily Mirror explains, the religion believes that every human has a reactive mind that responds to past traumas, which prevents people from experiencing reality. To find the sources of these traumas, which could be from past lives, Scientology followers carry out processes called auditing, where their deepest confessions are recorded.
On the other hand, followers do not believe in psychiatry. Tom Cruise himself has come to describe it as “pseudoscience.”
Several celebrities were attracted to this religious proposal, although many of them also decided to eventually leave, because they described it as a "sect", as reported by the British portal Mirror.
Tom Cruise has been one of the most influential public figures and even an ambassador for the Church of Scientology; They even treat him in an almost divided way not only for being famous, but also for serving the religion for a long time.
The protagonist of “Top Gun” has campaigned in Europe, but this has caused several love failures for the actor, starting with the breakup of two marriages: with Katie Holmes and with Nicole Kidman.
Why did he break up with Katie Holmes and Nicole Kidman?
Based on information from Mirror, in 2013 his ex-wife Katie Holmes filed for divorce from Cruise, because she did not want his daughter Suri to be involved in that religion.
“It's like we're here to help. If you are a Scientologist, you see life, things, as they are, in all their splendor, in all their splendor, their perplexity. And the more you know as a Scientologist, the more it overwhelms you,” Tom Cruise has said.
According to the TMZ portal, the Church of Scientology had a serious problem with Cruise when he was in a relationship with Nicole Kidman, since they considered her a "negative influence."
In writer Mike Rinder's book, “A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology,” it was revealed that the church made a “gap” in the celebrities' relationship.
In the book the writer states that the church began to worry when the protagonist of “Mission Impossible” began to ignore the calls of David Miscavige, the leader and main representative of Scientology after the death of its founder.
Miscavige became concerned that Tom Cruise was leaving Scientology, so, it is said, he sent a senior executive to the United Kingdom to have an audience with the actor, with the aim of bringing him back to “clarity.”
In the book the writer states that Cruise returned to Scientology, but as a result there was a great division between Nicole Kidman and him. There are even accusations that the church used espionage against the actress, however the institution denies this, as reported by the Page Six portal.
The controversies of Scientology
On several occasions, former members of the religion have described it as a cult that commits various abuses and harasses people who try to leave. Among those people is actress Leah Remini.
In 2019, a woman who belonged to the church and chose to remain anonymous made accusations of retaliation against her for leaving the church, child abuse, forced labor, and human trafficking.
In the United States, one of the controversies is Scientology's struggle to gain recognition as a religion and have tax exemption from the authorities. This finally happened in 1993. There are countries like Germany where it still does not have that recognition.
