Recruiting and retaining Scientologist celebrities and getting them to endorse

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data indi ...

to the public at large has been important to the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

since its early days. The organization has had a written program governing celebrity recruitment since at least 1955, when

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

created "Project Celebrity", offering rewards to Scientologists who recruited targeted celebrities. Early interested parties included former silent-screen star

Gloria Swanson Gloria May Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress and producer. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most f ...

and jazz pianist

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

. The Scientology organization has a particular interest in international focus on wealthy businesspeople and influencers to help promote its ideals. A Scientology policy letter of 1976 states that "rehabilitation of celebrities who are just beyond or just approaching their prime" enables the "rapid dissemination" of Scientology.

Coordinated effort

The Church of Scientology operates special

Celebrity Centre Church of Scientology Celebrity Centres are Churches of Scientology that are open to the general public but are intended for "artists, politicians, leaders of industry, and sports figures". The Celebrity Centre International was established in ...

s. Scientology policy governs the Celebrity Centres (the main one in Los Angeles and others in Paris, Nashville, and elsewhere), stating that "one of the major purposes of the Celebrity Centre and its staff is to expand the number of celebrities in Scientology." (Scientology Flag Order 2310) Another order describes Celebrity Centre's Public Clearing Division and its goal, "broad public into Scientology from celebrity dissemination"; this division has departments for planning celebrity events and routing the general public onto Scientology services as a result of celebrity involvement. As founder

put it:

Celebrities are very Special people and have a very distinct line of dissemination. They have comm nicationlines that others do not have and many medias icto get their dissemination through (Flag Order 3323, 9 May 1973)

Hugh B. Urban, professor of religious studies in the Department of Comparative Studies at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

said about Scientology's appeal to celebrities in an interview for

Beliefnet.com Beliefnet is a lifestyle website featuring editorial content related to the topics of inspiration, spirituality, health, wellness, love and family, news, and entertainment. History Launched in 1999 by Steven Waldman and Robert Nylen, Beliefnet ...

: Journalistic and media sources claim that Scientology is "The Church of the Stars" or a "star-studded sect," although there are likely more Hollywood celebrities in other religious traditions. One reason for this is the church's Celebrity Centres, which is unique to the religion. Most members in these facilities are not celebrities, however, a lot of members are part of the entertainment industry.

Notable Scientologist celebrities

The Church of Scientology has a long history of seeking out artists, musicians, writers and actors, and states that Scientology can help them in their lives and careers. Celebrity Scientologists include: *

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

Anne Archer Anne Archer (born August 24, 1947) is an American actress. Archer was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971, and in the year following, appeared in her feature film debut ''The Honkers'' (1972). She had supporting roles in ''Cancel My Reservation'' (1 ...

* Catherine Bell *

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...

Erika Christensen Erika Jane Christensen (born August 19, 1982) is an American actress and singer whose filmography includes roles in ''Traffic'' (2000), '' Swimfan'' (2002), ''The Banger Sisters'' (2002), ''The Perfect Score'' (2004), ''Flightplan'' (2005), '' ...

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

Jason Dohring Jason William Dohring (born March 30, 1982) is an American stage, television and voice actor who is best known for his role as Logan Echolls on the television show ''Veronica Mars'' (2004–2007, 2019) and the 2014 film continuation as well as ...

Jenna Elfman Jennifer Mary Elfman (née Butala, born 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the ABC sitcom ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Televisi ...

Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

Vivian Kubrick Vivian Vanessa Kubrick (born August 5, 1960), also credited under the pseudonym Abigail Mead, is an American-British filmmaker and composer. She is the daughter of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. Early life Vivian Vanessa Kubrick was born on August ...

Alanna Masterson Alanna Masterson (born June 27, 1988) is an American actress, known for her role as Tara Chambler in the AMC television series '' The Walking Dead''. Early life Masterson was born in New York City, to Carol Masterson and Joe Reaiche, a Lebanese ...

Christopher Masterson Christopher Kennedy Masterson (born January 22, 1980) is an American actor and disc jockey known best for his role as Malcolm's oldest brother Francis on the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle''. He is the younger brother of Danny Masterson, and ...

Danny Masterson Daniel Peter Masterson (born March 13, 1976) Most sources give birth date March 13, 1976. FilmReference.com gives March 3, 1976. is an American actor. He played the roles of Steven Hyde in ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), Milo Foster in ''Men a ...

Elisabeth Moss Elisabeth Singleton Moss (born July 24, 1982) is an American actor. She is known for her work in several television dramas, earning such accolades as two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, which led ''Vulture'' to name her the ...

Giovanni Ribisi Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (; born December 17, 1974) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the TV series ''Sneaky Pete'' and the films ''Avatar'' (2009), '' Lost in Translation'' (2003), ''Ted'' (2012) and its sequel ''Ted 2'' (201 ...

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...

Greta Van Susteren Greta Conway Van Susteren (born June 11, 1954) is an American commentator, lawyer, and television news anchor for Newsmax TV. She was previously on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She hosted Fox News's ''On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren'' for 14 y ...

References

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