You've been very open about breaking ties with the Scientology community on the show, which I think really made people root for you and your staunch commitment to your beliefs. What's been the most challenging aspect of parting ways with the community that was so integral to your life?
Being vocal was not an easy decision. I knew once I had said that I left publicly, I would have to be shunned by everyone I had known most of my life. So that was a big one.
Just saying publicly that you left gets you an automatic “Declare” and a "Declare" is basically a stamp of an “Enemy” to the group. What I have spoken about is only two points: Not being allowed to question things and forced disconnection that is enforced on its members when one leaves publicly.
Had I just walked away quietly, this conversation wouldn’t be taking place. So, it wasn’t so much that I left that they had a problem with but rather that I said that I did. So one could ask, "Why do it publicly then?" The answer is because I knew that there were a lot of people who were looking to me to stand for something when it came to this particular policy of Disconnection and not being allowed to question “authority.”
If I didn’t say something, I would not be setting any example for them. I would be quietly saying, “Well, this is okay and I should abide by these rules they have and be silent.”
I was naïve in thinking my friends -- and even the church -- would see my point not agreeing to these methods and maybe be part of a positive change. There are many who are out there who have not spoken about their distancing themselves and I find it cowardly. But there are those who have attacked it to a point where I am offended.
I am not perfect, but when it comes to being your own person who is able to think for themselves, come to their own conclusions without having to be forced to think this and this, allowed to make mistakes, to be vocal about your disagreements and asking questions of something that you dedicated your life to seems to be a basic human right. At least, that is what they teach you in the church.
http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/176063/leah_remini_reveals_the_hardest
Being vocal was not an easy decision. I knew once I had said that I left publicly, I would have to be shunned by everyone I had known most of my life. So that was a big one.
Just saying publicly that you left gets you an automatic “Declare” and a "Declare" is basically a stamp of an “Enemy” to the group. What I have spoken about is only two points: Not being allowed to question things and forced disconnection that is enforced on its members when one leaves publicly.
Had I just walked away quietly, this conversation wouldn’t be taking place. So, it wasn’t so much that I left that they had a problem with but rather that I said that I did. So one could ask, "Why do it publicly then?" The answer is because I knew that there were a lot of people who were looking to me to stand for something when it came to this particular policy of Disconnection and not being allowed to question “authority.”
If I didn’t say something, I would not be setting any example for them. I would be quietly saying, “Well, this is okay and I should abide by these rules they have and be silent.”
I was naïve in thinking my friends -- and even the church -- would see my point not agreeing to these methods and maybe be part of a positive change. There are many who are out there who have not spoken about their distancing themselves and I find it cowardly. But there are those who have attacked it to a point where I am offended.
I am not perfect, but when it comes to being your own person who is able to think for themselves, come to their own conclusions without having to be forced to think this and this, allowed to make mistakes, to be vocal about your disagreements and asking questions of something that you dedicated your life to seems to be a basic human right. At least, that is what they teach you in the church.
http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/176063/leah_remini_reveals_the_hardest