Elisabeth Moss has made rare remarks regarding her Scientology background, with The Handmaid’s Tale that she does not want her viewers to be ‘distracted’ by her faith.

The actor was raised as a Scientologist and has previously appeared in The West Wing, Mad Men, and The Invisible Man.

Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices created by American author L Ron Hubbard that has grown from a movement to a global church.

For years, the organization has been dogged by controversy, with some detractors branding it a ‘cult’ and naming several of its high-profile members as cult members, including Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Kirstie Alley.

When a viewer made the statement, Elisabeth spoke out against the argument that the totalitarian regime of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale and Scientology are both ‘outside sources of evil.’

When asked about her Scientologist beliefs in a new interview, she said she didn’t want to come across as cagey.

“If you and I met, just hanging out as friends, I’m, like, an open book about it,” she told The New Yorker.

“I don’t want people to be distracted by something when they’re watching me. I want them to be seeing the character. I feel like, when actors reveal too much of their lives, I’m sometimes watching something and I’m going, ‘Oh, I know that she just broke up with that person, or, I know that she loves to do hot yoga, or whatever it is’.”

She went on to say that ‘people can obviously hold whatever they want in their mind,’ which she ‘can’t control.’

“It’s not really a closed-off religion. It’s a place that is very open to, like, welcoming in somebody who wants to learn more about it. I think that’s the thing that is probably the most misunderstood,” the 39-year-old added.

She also emphasized the importance she places on “religious freedom and resistance to theocracy”.

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