Celebrities grew up in a cult

I have always had a fascination for the most grim types of cults. Maybe because I have the idea that those weird things really can't be found in the Netherlands (at least I have never come into contact with them) and because it is really something American. The truly disturbed cult NXIVM (pronounced: Nexium) for example, whose leader Keith Raniere is finally behind bars. Actress Allison Mack (known from Smallville) was involved and she is currently also in prison. I won't tell you what that cult was all about, because it is really grim, so googling is at your own risk.

But some celebrities really don't know any better. As in: it has been spoon-fed to them. Fortunately, many of them have escaped, but a few have not, and that is especially the case in the Church of Scientology. Apparently, it is really difficult to get out of there. I find that incredibly interesting by the way, because that is the cult that has the most mystery surrounding it. I would love to be a fly on the wall at that headquarters there. Who knows, I might even see a few of the celebrities listed below.

1. Rose McGowan
This actress, whom I mainly know from Charmed, grew up in the cult called Children of God (also known as The Family). Sounds heavy, and it is. It's a kind of mix of religion and hippies, but not the part of ‘freedom and happiness’, but more of ‘the more drugs and sex, the better’. McGowan herself says she was never abused (something that is quite common in this cult), but mainly left because she disagreed with the way women were treated; their only role in the cult was to sexually satisfy men.

2. Joaquin Phoenix
In my opinion, one of the best actors there is, but also one of the most intense actors. It is no secret that he has had quite a tough past: drug problems, his younger brother River Phoenix who died of an overdose, and then growing up in the Children of God cult. Right, the same one that Rose McGowan grew up in. Phoenix used to travel a lot with this cult – through South America for example – to spread the word of Jesus Christ. He says he doesn't necessarily have bad memories of that time, and that his parents took him and his siblings out as soon as they started to doubt the intentions of the sect.

3. Michelle Pfeiffer
At a young age, she was a member of the cult the Breatharians. Ever heard of it? If not, that's probably for the best: it's a movement that believes that people need nothing more and nothing less than just oxygen and sunlight. If you meditate enough, you'll survive. Spoiler alert: you don't survive that. You really need food and drink. Pfeiffer said that the cult cost a lot of money (I'm curious: why? All my money goes to food and drink) and that they were too controlling.

4. David Arquette
The ex-husband of Courteney Cox and actor from Scream grew up in the cult Subud. I personally had never heard of it, but it is apparently a sect that lived as a housing group without electricity or running water. In this case, he lived in the village of Skymont, in the state of Virginia. His parents took the kids with them when his father got a role as an actor in a series. And probably for the best.

5. Winona Ryder
Another cult I had never heard of (there are probably still thousands of them in America): the Rainbow Commune. As the name suggests, you lived here, just like with David Arquette, in a living commune. Again without electricity, but the Rainbow Commune also wanted to live together without leaders or any organization; their motto was ‘peace and love’. That sect doesn't seem to be very large anymore, although members often still gather every year in different forests to pray for peace on earth.

6. Elizabeth Moss
I find it so strange that she plays an actress in The Handmaid’s Tale, a series about what happens when a weird belief takes over. A dystopian world. And in what did she grow up? Right, in a movement that would prefer to do exactly that. For them, The Handmaid’s Tale is a kind of dream. Moss grew up in the Church of Scientology. Whether she is still a member remains a bit unclear and she doesn't want to say anything about it. However, the rumors that she is indeed still a member are quite persistent.

7. Glenn Close
Last but not least, another sect I had never heard of. When this actress was young, she was part of the Moral Re-Armament. She could only escape when she went to college (isn't it bizarre that it is really very difficult to safely get out of many sects?). According to her, she was not allowed to do anything at all, and if she expressed the desire to do so, she was made to feel guilty. This sect has its roots in Christianity, and stands for (as they call it themselves) the Four Absolutes: absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute selflessness, and absolute love.

Source: Suggest.com