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John Travolta fans may be excited to see him singing and dancing again in the remake of Hairspray, due for release next month, but not everyone is happy with his involvement in the film. Travolta is a Scientologist and because of that some in the gay community are calling for a boycott of the film. They claim that Scientology is homophobic and thus Travolta should not be playing the part of Edna Turnblad, an iconic gay role.

Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade, is an outspoken critic of the situation. “It’s well known that Scientology has operated reparative therapy clinics to try and ‘cure’ gays,” said Naff. “Scientologists are required to donate a hefty portion of their income to the church. . . So, by going to this movie, gay people are literally putting money into an organization that seeks to ‘cure’ them.”
In response, John Carmichael of the New York Church of Scientology stated that “Scientology doesn’t try to tell people what their sexual orientation should be. The emphasis is on helping people survive better in the world. If a person comes into Scientology and they are involved in doing anything that they consider detrimental to their survival, then they can change that compulsion.”

As I followed this controversy, I questioned what else I knew about Scientology, and all I could think of was Tom Cruise. So I wondered if the church had followings in regions other than Hollywood. Using the church locator on the Scientology website, I mapped the 109 addresses that they listed. It was surprising to see the Midwest with 15 churches, and some other hot spots in Louisiana, Texas, and Florida. However, as expected California still dominates the map.

Some other interesting statistics from the official website of Scientology:

It is the fastest growing religion on the planet.

26% of its members are former Catholics, 27% are former Protestants.

76% of its members are under 40.

30% of its members have been with the church for less than 1.5 years.

Back to the acting world, Scientology hasn’t seemed to do any favors for actors’ careers. It will be interesting to see if the religion continues to grow among the celebrity community.

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