Actors and singers who grew up in weird religions or cults

Posted by Carisa Kissane on Sunday, May 19, 2024

Rose McGowan and Joaquin Phoenix's families were involved in the Children of God cult

Paul Walker, Katherine Heigl, and Eliza Dushku were raised Mormon

Any others?

by Anonymousreply 61May 15, 2019 6:57 AM

Winona Ryder's folks were associated with the weirdness of Timothy Leary.

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by Anonymousreply 1May 9, 2019 3:20 AM

^^And she turned out just fine (eye roll).

by Anonymousreply 2May 9, 2019 3:23 AM

Kathryn “Katy Perry” Hudson’s parents are Pentecostal preachers.

Growing up, Perry and her siblings were not allowed to eat the cereal Lucky Charms as the term "luck" reminded their mother of Lucifer, and had to call deviled eggs "angeled eggs". Perry primarily listened to gospel music, as secular music was generally discouraged in the family's home.

by Anonymousreply 5May 9, 2019 3:32 AM

Ellen DeGeneres grew up in the Christian Scientist religion.

by Anonymousreply 6May 9, 2019 3:48 AM

Glenn Close was in a cult before she went to college.

by Anonymousreply 7May 9, 2019 3:57 AM

Piper Laurie had a physical relationship with Jim Jones in the early 70's.

by Anonymousreply 8May 9, 2019 4:59 AM

Amy Adams was in the Mormon church until she was 11.

by Anonymousreply 10May 9, 2019 5:36 AM

Aaron Eckhart is another ex Mormon.

by Anonymousreply 13May 12, 2019 6:28 PM

LOTS of African-American celebrities grew up Jehovah's Witness:

Michael Jackson Prince The Wayans Brothers Donald Glover Serena and Venus Williams Terrence Howard Naomi Campbell

by Anonymousreply 14May 12, 2019 6:32 PM

The Jacksons were JWs and so was the late Tejano singer Selena.

by Anonymousreply 17May 12, 2019 6:41 PM

Elizabeth Moss Lisa Marie Pressley and Riley Keough Danny Masterson Beck Juliette Lewis Erika Christensen Mimi Rogers

by Anonymousreply 18May 12, 2019 6:41 PM

^sorry about the lack of spacing/commas

by Anonymousreply 19May 12, 2019 6:42 PM

Michelle Pfeifer was in a cult as a young adult.

by Anonymousreply 20May 12, 2019 6:54 PM

Ryan Gosling was raised Mormon.

by Anonymousreply 21May 12, 2019 7:12 PM

[quote]Actors and singers who grew up in weird religions or cults

Anyone that belongs to any church belongs to a cult, no?

by Anonymousreply 22May 12, 2019 7:13 PM

R22, I disagree. If you are punished for leaving then it's a cult. If no one cares you stop attending services then it's a religion.

by Anonymousreply 23May 12, 2019 7:23 PM

R22 most students of cults make a distinction between cults and churches. Here is the classic Lifton definition. It is usually thought a cult doesn't have to have all of these criteria. It's hard to think of say, a mainline church like Episcopalians, having any. Even churches we dislike for their gay stance, a mainstreet Southern Baptist in Houston, don't have enough of these criteria to be a true cult.

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by Anonymousreply 24May 12, 2019 7:26 PM

Amy Adams was also raised Mormon.

Actress A.J. Cook and musician Brandon Flowers are still active Mormons.

by Anonymousreply 27May 12, 2019 7:34 PM

Glen Close grew up in Moral Re-Armament. This is what the Oxford Group turned into. AA also grew out of the Oxford Group. I don't believe AA is a full blown cult but given its origins it has a tendency to go in that direction.

by Anonymousreply 28May 12, 2019 7:47 PM

Jared Leto ‘s single mother had him and his brother grow up in a commune of artists. I think they also lived out of their car for a while like Jim Carrey

by Anonymousreply 29May 12, 2019 7:50 PM

Isn't Mel Gibson's father some sort fundie preacher or self-proclaimed prophet who is also a notorious antisemite and Holocaust denier? And Nicole Kiidman's family is into some cult stuff, too, I think.

by Anonymousreply 30May 12, 2019 7:50 PM

I think Mel Gibson's belongs to some traditionalist break away Catholic group that thinks the Roman Catholic church is not strict enough. Fundamentist usually implies Protestant. But I may be wrong.

by Anonymousreply 31May 12, 2019 7:59 PM

Fundamentalist Catholics are those engaged by Vatican II and still go by the old code

by Anonymousreply 33May 12, 2019 8:02 PM

The Catholic sect is called Opus Dei.

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by Anonymousreply 35May 12, 2019 8:38 PM

Mormonism is labeled as a cult by some people due to reports of some ex-members being harassed by bishops or others when trying to leave or after leaving the church. Some Mormons do disown family members when they leave the church.

by Anonymousreply 36May 12, 2019 9:11 PM

Prince was not raised as a JW, he got into it later in life. He was raised a Seventh-day Adventist.

by Anonymousreply 37May 12, 2019 9:23 PM

Lark Voorhies from the Saved by the Bell is a Jehovah's Witness.

by Anonymousreply 40May 12, 2019 9:53 PM

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

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by Anonymousreply 41May 13, 2019 5:13 AM

A lot of the main-line Christian religions don't recognize Mormons or Jehovah's witnesses as being a Chritisian religion and are a cult. THe Mormons because they equate Joseph Smith as being equal to God and the Book of Mormon to be equal to the Bible. The Jehovah's witnesses as they don't recognize the Trinity and Jesus being the Son of God.

by Anonymousreply 42May 13, 2019 5:40 AM

I just heard Patricia Arquette on Fresh Air this week and she talked about growing up in a cult, so that’s her, David, Rosanna and Alexis.

by Anonymousreply 43May 13, 2019 5:58 AM

I guess you can add Luke Schroder to this list. Although when you see what dear old dad escaped to after getting out of that sham of a marriage alive and under 50…

[quote] Lark Voorhies from the Saved by the Bell is a Jehovah's Witness.

The producer of that show went to work at Pat Robertson's glorified diploma mill. Hayley Mills got out while the getting was good.

by Anonymousreply 44May 13, 2019 6:29 AM

Derek and Julianne Hough grew up Mormon. I think both have left.

by Anonymousreply 45May 13, 2019 4:33 PM

Opus Dei is very conservative, but it's still within the fold, recognizing the Pope and recognized by the Vatican. Mel Gibson is a Traditionalist Catholic, in a group not in good standing with the Vatican.

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by Anonymousreply 46May 13, 2019 4:58 PM

Gibson comes from a long line of Catholic Church educated Jew haters. Plenty of them on DL. No cult required.

by Anonymousreply 47May 13, 2019 6:02 PM

Anyone raised in Scientology. Leah Remini (though she broke away) and Elisabeth Moss.

by Anonymousreply 49May 13, 2019 6:34 PM

Very interesting thread OP.

Here is an article written by Guinevere Turner on her time in the cult (and after).

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by Anonymousreply 50May 13, 2019 6:41 PM

Children don't get involved with cults. They're raised into them.

Will this thread be shut down like the Soros one or completely vanish as the things scrubbed off the Internet?

Is there anything in this once great message board that will resist censorship?

by Anonymousreply 51May 13, 2019 6:54 PM

Oh my god, it's the scrubbed-off troll. Please get a new schtick.

by Anonymousreply 52May 13, 2019 7:43 PM

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Allison Mack as the trail has just started.

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by Anonymousreply 53May 13, 2019 10:37 PM

R53 Most people don't really know who she is, apart from the sex cult I'd never heard of her.

by Anonymousreply 54May 14, 2019 12:24 AM

Didn't Allison join that cult as an adult?

by Anonymousreply 55May 14, 2019 12:28 AM

R55 Probably, another reason for her not to be on this list.

by Anonymousreply 56May 14, 2019 10:28 AM

Did not know Luke Evans family were Jehovah's Witnesses and he was bullied in school.

What about Jonathan Groff? Thought I heard something about his family and upbringing ....Amish?

by Anonymousreply 57May 14, 2019 12:58 PM

I've heard that about Luke Evans. Probably explains why he had such a hard time coming out.

by Anonymousreply 58May 15, 2019 5:59 AM

Glennie is probably the most famous former member of "Up With People." Make of that what you will.

by Anonymousreply 59May 15, 2019 6:24 AM

Why is this thread flagged?

by Anonymousreply 60May 15, 2019 6:30 AM

What's the difference between a "weird religion" and a cult? It seems like all religion is a cult by today's standards.

by Anonymousreply 61May 15, 2019 6:57 AM

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