Tom Cruise Leaving Scientology: Actor May Be Abandoning The Controversial Church In Order To Save His Career

Tom Cruise is reportedly leaving Scientology, and while reports indicate that concerns about his family is driving his decision, there could be a more simple explanation — career self-preservation.

This week, reports emerged that Cruise has made the decision to leave the controversial church, where he is perhaps the best-known member. For much of the last decade, Cruise has served as an ambassador of sorts for the Church of Scientology, speaking out about its programs and taking part in goodwill campaigns.

Reports indicated that Cruise was concerned about the effect it’s had on his family, and ex-wife Katie Holmes has said that fears of raising daughter Suri in the church was one of the reasons she left Tom.

But the already-controversial church has come under even more intense fire in recent months. Earlier this year, the documentary Going Clear highlighted the church’s darker side, including alleged abuses against members and a level of greed unseen among other religions.

The documentary took aim at Cruise specifically, leading many to believe that the revelations could hurt his career. In a story that accompanied the documentary’s release, USA Today noted that the controversy could impact the release of the latest movie in the Mission Impossible series.

“Cruise’s stardom has long had a Teflon indestructability, having survived one of the most notorious of public-relations disasters in 2005 when he ditched his longtime publicist for his sister, Lee Anne DeVette, a Scientologist; dramatically wooed his eventual third wife, Katie Holmes; and jumped on Oprah Winfrey’s couch.”

“Ten years later, a documentary may be a seemingly small threat to a global star who has already weathered media storms over his Scientology beliefs. Or Going Clear could persist as an acute challenge to Cruise at a time when his box office clout may be waning and in a media age where privacy seldom lasts.”

There were some who believed that Tom Cruise could be hurt by the revelations. Jeetendr Sehdev, a marketing professor at the University of Southern California and a celebrity branding expert, said the documentary shed light on Scientology in a way that many people did not understand before.

“The documentary is going to have an impact on Mission: Impossible when it comes out,” Sehdev said. “Secrets in Hollywood are really no longer sexy. Audiences are looking for transparency and authenticity in their celebrities more than ever before.”

There is no clear answer to why Tom Cruise is leaving Scientology — or even if the reports are true. Cruise has not spoken publicly, and some insiders have expressed doubt that he would leave the church, including a former high-ranking member who told Hollywood Life that the actor is likely still in the church. But if Cruise does distance himself from the church, it could be his career he’s trying to preserve.

[Picture by Michael Buckner/Getty Images]