Scientologist Elisabeth Moss thinks that people have the wrong idea about the highly controversial religion.
“It’s not really a closed-off religion,” the “Handmaid’s Tale” actress said in an interview with the New Yorker published on Friday.“It’s a place that is very open to, like, welcoming in somebody who wants to learn more about it. I think that’s the thing that is probably the most misunderstood.”
Moss, who was raised in the church, said that she can’t control how the public perceives Scientology and that she can only share her own experience.
“People can obviously hold in their mind whatever they want to, and I can’t control that. If it’s not that, it’s going to be something else,” Moss, 39, said.
Scientology has been accused of practices such as mind control, making family members cut ties with apostates, a.k.a. disconnection, and assigning troubled members to hard labor. However, the church calls the allegations “false and mischaracterized,” according to the website.
When asked what views of “The Handmaid’s Tale” might think about her involvement in the church, she said repeatedly, “I would just encourage people to find out for themselves.”
The Church of Scientology has been accused of practicing several abuses. GC ImagesShe added, “I’ve certainly been guilty of reading an article or watching something and taking that as gospel … And obviously something like religious freedom and resistance against a theocracy is very important to me.”
Moss also shared how her draw to play roles having to deal with trauma coincides with her religion.
“Well, I think it’s more about those traumatic incidents, or those moments of pain, whether it’s emotional or physical, holding you back from being who you are now,” she said.
Moss also explained that while growing up, Scientology taught her how to better communicate.
“Communication is something that I obviously use so much, not only in my job but in my interpersonal relationships as well,” she said. “That is probably one of the No. 1 basic things that I grew up learning and grew up using and use every day: the power of just being able to listen to somebody, of making somebody feel heard, of not belittling them for what they think or believe, even if you think it’s wrong.”
Scientology defector Leah Remini (left) has claimed that the church forbids Moss to speak to her. She also addressed rumors that she left the room at an awards ceremony in 2017 where Leah Remini, a defector of the church, won for her anti-Scientology docuseries.
“I went to the bathroom,” Moss said, adding, “I wish it was more exciting than that.”
Remini notably claimed that the Church has forbidden Moss to speak to her but Moss claims that she has never been approached by “The King Of Queens” actress.
“I have never received any request to talk to her. So there hasn’t been an opportunity for her to say that. I don’t know her that well, so it’s not like we were friends,” Moss said.
Other celebrities to practice Scientology include John Travolta, Tom Cruise and Kirstie Alley.
