CLEARWATER, FL - JANUARY 16: A headquarters for the Church of Scientology is seen January 16, 2013 in Clearwater, Florida. A book, 'Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief' that is sent to be released January 17, has renewed interest in the religion that counts actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta as followers.
Close-up of the entrance plaque of the building housing the Church of Scientology European Office for Public Affairs and Human Rights, on the number 91 of Loi / Wet street in Brussels, taken 04 September 2007. Belgium public prosecutor confirmed, 04 September 2007, his intention to sue 12 persons and the association scientology Belgium linked with scientology for several fact including illegal excercice of medecine and swindle.
Hollywood US star Tom Cruise inaugurates 18 September 2004 in Madrid a new centre for the controversial Church of Scientology, of which he is a member. Cruise, who attended the European premiere of his new thriller 'Collateral' in Venice earlier this month, spoke briefly in Spanish to the 1,000-odd people gathered at the new centre near the national parliament. Church members have for several days been distributing leaflets inviting people to come to 'a party which will be attended by Tom Cruise,' an AFP journalist said. Founded in the United States in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology was accorded the status of religion there in 1993, but is regarded with suspicion in many European countries, where opponents accuse it of manipulating members for financial ends.
A cyclist passes the building where television station KCET used to be housed in Los Angeles, California July 10, 2012. The Church of Scientology, the religion whose followers include actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, plans to start a religious broadcasting center to promote its teachings over TV, radio and the Internet. The center, located near the church's West Coast headquarters in Hollywood, would occupy the nearly five-acre studio property the church bought last year from Los Angeles public TV station KCET for $42 million. Picture taken July 10.
A pedestrian walks past the Church of Scientology along Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California on July 9, 2012. US actor Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have reached a 'private' divorce settlement less than two weeks after she announced their bombshell split, as the Hollywood pair issued a joint statement pledging to act in the 'best interests' of their six-year-old daughter Suri, and to respect each other's 'beliefs' in her upbringing, in an apparent reference to Scientology. Speculation over the cause of the split has focused on Holmes' reported concern that Cruise wanted their daughter to be immersed more deeply in the Church of Scientology, of which he is a prominent member.
Actor Tom Cruise and his wife, actress Katie Holmes, arrive at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar party in West Hollywood, California in this February 26, 2012 file photo. The couple settled their divorce on July 9, 2012 in what her lawyer called a "speedy resolution" to a case that prompted questions over the raising of their daughter and the Church of Scientology.
