Is Will Smith a Scientologist?

Tom Cruise may have his sights set on recruiting David Beckham to the Church of Scientology, if a new biography of the actor-producer is to be believed, but it seems Cruise's buddy Will Smith is already in the fold. When he handed out the traditional 'wrap presents' at the end of filming of his latest movie Hancock, crew members were surprised to find they'd each been given a gift certificate entitling them to a free 'personality test' at their local Scientology centre. Never mind that such tests - designed to convert people to the religion by identifying personality flaws - are given free anyway.

Smith, whose latest film I Am Legend is a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic, is known to be a good friend of Scientology booster Cruise, but has never confirmed that he's ever actually joined the church. However, he defended the religion on Access Hollywood last month: "I was introduced to it by Tom, and I'm a student of world religion. I was raised in a Baptist household. I went to a Catholic school, but the ideas of the Bible are 98 per cent the same ideas of Scientology, 98 per cent the same ideas of Hinduism and Buddhism."
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Scientology was created in 1954 by the sci-fi author L Ron Hubbard, who set up processes designed to eliminate 'engrams' (established patterns of thought, which may have resulted from misdeeds in past lives). Getting rid of engrams and striving for enlightenment through Dianetics - a kind of personal reprogramming achieved by intensive counseling - are the general aims and activities of church members.

Smith sounded like a Scientologist when he told Scotland's Daily Record: "Even Hitler didn't wake up going, 'Let me do the most evil thing I can do today. I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was good. Stuff like that just needs reprogramming." So now we know.