Skip to content
Culture & Religion —

Leaving Scientology

“I was in a cult for thirty-four years. Everyone else could see it. I don’t know why I couldn’t.”rnIn this profile, film director Paul Haggis talks about his departure from Scientology.
Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

“I was in a cult for thirty-four years. Everyone else could see it. I don’t know why I couldn’t.” In this profile, film director Paul Haggis talks about his departure from the Church of Scientology. Haggis was prominent in both Scientology and Hollywood, two communities that often converge. He had been in the organization for nearly thirty-five years. Haggis wrote the screenplay for “Million Dollar Baby,” which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2004, and he wrote and directed “Crash,” which won Best Picture the next year—the only time in Academy history that that has happened.

Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.
Related
A bearded man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt speaks with a microphone clipped to his collar in front of a purple background with white dots.
The Well
How Rainn Wilson discovered sacredness
The hospital where Rainn Wilson’s wife and son nearly died became his own personal holy site. There, he discovered that the sacred can exist in places we least expect it. During his talk at A Night of Awe and Wonder, he explained how the awe we feel in moments of courage and love is moral beauty — and following it might be the start of our spiritual revolution.
▸
13 min
—
with
Rainn Wilson
Up Next
Surprising Science
Born Gloomy
Researchers discovered that levels of a molecule called neuropeptide Y (NPY) directly relate to whether we have a “glass half empty” or “glass half full” attitude towards life.