Was Meghan Markle drawn to Scientology? Her father says he warned her after seeing her outside church in LA
A few months ahead of her nuptials to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was baptized into the Church of England.
The Duchess of Sussex attended a Catholic school when she was young. However, just like her mother Doria Ragland, Meghan was also a protestant.
But as the future actress grew older, her ambitions may have led her to stumble upon a new faith altogether—a secretive church especially popular among some elite circles in Hollywood.
As we reported yesterday, rumors are rife that Meghan is planning a big Hollywood comeback after she and Prince Harry got the official nod from the Queen to exit the royal family and move to Canada. According to speculation, Meghan has already contacted Tinseltown veteran Tom Cruise to help her out. The royal couple was also recently seen getting cozy with Jon Favreau, Director of the 'Lion King' while attending the premiere of the same as rumors flew they were asking for 'voiceover work' for themselves.
Among other things, Cruise has built quite a reputation as the poster boy of the Church of Scientology. Several reports have claimed he is “considered a deity" among Scientologists.
According to sources, Tom is expected to exploit his superstar status as well as connections with the church to help Meghan and Harry out in this matter. Such an arrangement is due to suppress any negative press coverage and instead raise the couple's profile to the upper echelons of Hollywood.
Tom knows from his years of experience what it's like to be under constant scrutiny by the media as well as the backlash that comes with it. This would help him facilitate Meghan and Harry's smooth transition from royal life to becoming Hollywood A-listers.
However, this is not the first time Meghan has been linked to Scientologists.
In July 2018, the Duchess of Sussex’s father, Thomas Markle Sr., revealed he actually had to warn his daughter about the Church of Scientology. The 74-year-old explained in a detailed interview with The Sun how he caught a young Meghan hanging about outside a Scientology church in Los Angeles, according to a report by Yahoo News.
At the time, Thomas Sr. warned his daughter she would be in "big trouble" if she ever returned to the neighborhood.
Nonetheless, there has been no indication that the future Duchess was ever considering joining the church's ranks.
In August 2018, Meghan's father spoke to The Sun once again. This time, he described the royal family as being "cult-like." “They are either like Scientologists or the Stepford family,” the retired television lighting director said in the interview.
“If they hear anybody say anything they just lock the doors. They need to speak up!” he added, presumably referencing an earlier claim he made that the royal family had been “in silence mode” since he began giving interviews to media outlets.
“They are cult-like — like Scientology — because they are secretive,” he remarked. “They close the door, pull the shades down and put their fingers in their ears so they don’t have to hear."
“Maybe they have a secret handshake too! You cannot ask a question of them — as they won’t answer,” Thomas added at the time.
Having said that, the Church of Scientology has often invited controversy for its practices and secretive methods. However, it has always denied claims that it is a cult and that it manipulates its members.
Founded by L Ron Hubbard, the religion has since amassed a huge celebrity following—including Hollywood megastars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.