Actors and singers who grew up in weird religions or cults

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

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

Does Scientology count?

Guinevere Turner.

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.

Ellen DeGeneres grew up in the Christian Scientist religion.

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

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

Joaquin Phoenix

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

Oh, no. No one else.

Sufjan Stevens

Aaron Eckhart is another ex Mormon.

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

Leah Remini

Patti Smith grew up JW.

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

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

^sorry about the lack of spacing/commas

Michelle Pfeifer was in a cult as a young adult.

Ryan Gosling was raised Mormon.

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

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

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.

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.

The Singing Nun

Madonna's kids

Amy Adams was also raised Mormon.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

^Gibson's father

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

^enraged by

The Catholic sect is called Opus Dei.

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.

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

Even worse

The Osmonds

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

[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.]

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Do Quakers count?

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

Very interesting thread OP.

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

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?

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

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

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

Didn't Allison join that cult as an adult?

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

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?

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

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

Why is this thread flagged?

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