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Laura Prepon reveals why motherhood led her to leave Scientology

The "Orange Is The New Black" star shared that motherhood forced her to do some self-reflection.
/ Source: TODAY

They say kids will change you, and Laura Prepon is proof.

In a new interview with People, the "Orange Is The New Black" star shared that motherhood forced her to do some self-reflection.

"As a brand new mother, I was reflecting so much on my own upbringing and the way I was mothered," the actor, 41, told People. "I was forced to look at a lot of things in my life that I wasn't looking at before."

Prepon, who shares a daughter, 4, and son, 16 months, with husband, actor Ben Foster, revealed she is no longer practicing Scientology.

"If motherhood has taught me anything so far, it's that something can work out for a period of time and then you move on and evolve from that," Prepon said. "As a new mom, I was riddled with anxiety that I had never experienced before. My friends who were mothers with older kids said, 'Laura, this is a phase, you'll move on and then it will be something different.' And that has transcended into other parts of my life. We're all evolving. I always see that with my kids."

On the subject of faith and leaving the set of beliefs invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, Prepon continued, "I've always been very open-minded, even since I was a child. I was raised Catholic and Jewish. I've prayed in churches, meditated in temples. I've studied Chinese meridian theory. I haven't practiced Scientology in close to five years and it's no longer part of my life."

Prepon is not the first celebrity to leave Scientology behind in favor of their family.

In 2013, after more than 30 years as member of the Church of Scientology, Leah Remini made headlines with her decision to leave the religious organization.

"In my house, it’s family first — but I was spending most of my time at the Church," Remini explained in an interview with BuzzFeed. "So, I was saying ‘family first,’ but I wasn’t showing that. I didn’t like the message that sent my daughter."

“She was getting to the age where the acclimation into the Church would have to start,” Remini explained in an interview with BuzzFeed.

At the time, The Church of Scientology responded to Remini's remarks, saying in a statement to TODAY: "It comes as no surprise that someone as self-absorbed as Leah Remini with an insatiable craving for attention would exploit her former faith as a publicity stunt by rewriting her history with it, including omitting that she was participating in a program to remain a Scientologist by her own choice, as she was on the verge of being expelled for her ethical lapses."

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