Recruiting and retaining Scientologist celebrities and getting them to endorse Scientology 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 business, or a new religious ...

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 '' Dianetic ...

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

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'' ...

* Catherine Bell * Nancy Cartwright * Erika Christensen *

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 Go ...

* Jason Dohring *

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 – Televi ...

* Doug E. Fresh *

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 songw ...

* Vivian Kubrick * Alanna Masterson * Christopher Masterson *

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 * Giovanni Ribisi *

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'' ( ...

* Greta Van Susteren

References

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