Elisabeth Moss Addresses Criticism of Being a Scientologist, Explains How the Religion Has Helped Her

Elisabeth Moss is opening up about being a Scientologist in an eye-opening new interview.

The 39-year-old actress has faced criticism over the years for being a member of the religion, especially while starring in a show like The Handmaid’s Tale.

Scientology records that have been made public show that Elisabeth has been part of the religion for most of her life. She took the Hubbard Key to Life Course at age eight and reached the state of Clear at age 11. Most recently, she did a Purification Rundown detox treatment in 2017.

In a new interview with The New Yorker, she was asked about the religion.

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“I don’t want to come off as being cagey,” Elisabeth responded. . “If you and I met, just hanging out as friends, I’m, like, an open book about it… I don’t want people to be distracted by something when they’re watching me. I want them to be seeing the character. I feel like, when actors reveal too much of their lives, I’m sometimes watching something and I’m going, Oh, I know that she just broke up with that person, or, I know that she loves to do hot yoga, or whatever it is.”

Elisabeth was told by the reporter that fans are already distracted by knowing she’s a Scientologist.

“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… It’s not really a closed-off religion. 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.”

Elisabeth was asked about performing trauma even though she had to let go of her own trauma and pain to “go Clear.”

“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.

Elisabeth talked about how the religion helped her as she grew up.

“Communication is something that I obviously use so much, not only in my job but in my interpersonal relationships as well. 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,” she said.

The reporter brought up how some of the alleged abuses perpretated by Scientology have echoed the tactics used in Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale. Elisabeth was asked on viewers can reconcile the two things and she said, “I would just encourage people to find out for themselves. 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.”

Elisabeth was also asked about the time when she left the room at the Television Critics Association Awards when Leah Remini won for her anti-Scientology docu-series in 2017.

“I went to the bathroom,” she said. “I wish it was more exciting than that.”

Leah has claimed that Elisabeth is forbidden from speaking to her, but she said, “I have never been approached by her. 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.”

For more from the interview, visit NewYorker.com.