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What do Tom Cruise, Beck, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Giovanni Ribisi, Katie Holmes, and Paul Haggis all have in common? Why, they’re all members of the cult-I mean religion-called Scientology. That is, until this week when a letter written by Paul Haggis (director of Crash, writer of Million Dollar Baby and Casino Royale) to the “church” of Scientology was revealed.

Apparently, Haggis was infuriated by Scientology’s backing of California’s Proposition 8, which in 2008 made same-sex marriages illegal. Haggis wrote: “The church’s refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent [...] I refuse to consent”. Haggis also criticised Scientology for putting pressure on Haggis and his wife to “disconnect” their lives from her grandparents’. And so, Haggis has quit.

What’s far more astounding is how on earth people can buy into this ridiculous cult. It was created by a crazy sci-fi writer who wanted to abuse the tax-breaks handed out to religions. How can anyone associate themselves with an organisation who charge people up to thousands of dollars for “personality tests” (haven’t they heard of facebook applications?), deny the existence of autism (which John Travolta’s recently deceased teenage son had), and forbid a woman from screaming during childbirth? Not to mention their hatred for psychiatry, their use of legal waivers forced upon those who join, and their tendency to harass and torment those opposed to or investigating them. It’s a secretive, money-grabbing, dangerous cult. And anyone who disagrees with me need only check out the Simpsons episode called The Joy of Sect, in which Springfield is controlled by a group known as the Movementarians. So well done, Paul Haggis, let’s hope the millions of others see sense and follow suit.