Famed Oscar award winning director for Million Dollar Baby and Crash, Paul Haggis has taken the bold step of renouncing Scientology in a scathing letter addressed to the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre head Tommy Davis.
The letter, published on the blog of ex-Scientologist Marty Rathbun, cited the church’s history of gay-bashing as one of the reasons he is leaving the church. He grew angry with Scientology’s support of Proposition 8 in California’s ban on gay marriage. He wrote, “The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent, Tommy. I refuse to consent.”
Haggis also found fault with the practice of disconnection. He said, “You might recall that my wife was ordered to disconnect from her parents because of something absolutely trivial they supposedly did twenty-five years ago when they resigned from the church. Although it caused her terrible personal pain, my wife broke off all contact with them. I refused to do so. I’ve never been good at following orders, especially when I find them morally reprehensible.”
Haggis resigned his membership and fully expects that private information disclosed by him during Scientology audit sessions will be made public in a smear campaign of retaliation.