From Richard Gere to Katie Holmes: When celebs left their religion

If you thought religion was a trivial matter for movie stars — no more than passing curiosity — think again. Some like to talk about their exploration of spirituality (like Lindsay Lohan did recently), while some choose to be tight-lipped about their religious leanings. We did a round-up of celebs who changed their religion (causing fans to raise their eyebrows) and their reasons for doing so...

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay was photographed holding a copy of the Quran while doing community service in New York last summer. And recently, Lindsay Lohan opened up on exploring her spiritual side and her newfound love for Islam. The troubled actress told The Sun, “I’m a very spiritual person and I’m really open to learning.” She said that she had been studying the religion to satiate her intellectual and spiritual curiosity. Also, it’s not just Islam but also other religions that pique her interest. The 29-year-old however, hasn’t had enough time on her hands to finished reading the Quran saying, “I’m not done reading it. Do you know how long that would take? It takes so long.” The Catholic-born actress also revealed that her younger sister Ali converted to Buddhism while exploring spirituality.

Isla Fisher

This Australian actress and author, (she’s authored two novels for teens before becoming an actress), was born to Scottish parents and grew up as a Methodist. Isla decided to convert to Judaism after getting engaged to comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, an Orthodox Jew, in 2004. She studied the religion for three years and converted to Judaism in 2007 and even accepted the Hebrew name Ayala. The couple tied the knot in 2010 in an Orthodox Jewish ceremony. “I would do anything — move into any religion — to be united in marriage with him (Sacha). We have a future together, and religion comes second to love as far as we are concerned,” Fischer was quoted as saying.

Richard Gere

The 66-year-old who was raised as a Methodist is probably the most famous Hollywood celeb convert to Buddhism. Apparently, the Pretty Woman star’s interest in Buddhism began much earlier in his 20s. He first studied Zen Buddhism for around six years, then traveled to Nepal in the late 70s spending time in the company of Tibetan monks and lamas. Gere also met 14th Dalai Lama, became his active supporter and a follower of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Julia Roberts

Unlike her Pretty Woman co-star, Richard Gere who got attracted to Buddhism, Julia Roberts got drawn towards Hinduism while shooting for Eat, Pray, Love. Julia was raised by a Catholic mother and Baptist father, was interested in Hinduism much earlier thanks to her practice of yoga. She also revealed that she, her husband and children go to temple together to “chant and pray and celebrate.” She was also quoted as saying, “I’m definitely a practising Hindu.” Roberts was spotted sporting a bindi on her forehead during her trip to India in January 2009. Her film production company is called ‘Red Om Films,’ named after the Hindu symbol ‘Om’.

Katie Holmes

It is said that before getting famous through the hit American TV show Dawson’s Creek, Katie Holmes was a church-going girl who was born and raised in the Roman Catholic way. But apparently, within a few weeks of dating Hollywood heartthrob Tom Cruise — a poster child for Scientology — she began taking Scientology classes. Though the 37-year-old did not officially convert to Scientology, she followed and practised the religion. They married in 2006 according to Scientology and Katie delivered daughter Suri via ‘silent birth’ a practice by Scientology religion.

Jane Fonda

The veteran actress was brought up in an agnostic family, and married American media mogul Ted Turner, an atheist, and took refuge in Christianity much later in life. So what made Jane Fonda steer towards religion altogether? The reason being, a spate of personal problems. The 78-year-old publicly announced her conversion to Christianity in 2001. According to Jane, the reason she was drawn towards Christianity could be because she lives in Georgia which has a traditional Southern Christian culture.

Zooey Deschanel

New Girl star Zooey Deschanel converted to Judaism for love, shortly before marrying producer Jacob Pechenik in June 2015, US Weekly reported. But the article did not say what denomination of rabbi supervised her conversion. “Zooey con­verted to Judaism for Jacob,” an insider told the magazine. The 36-year-old actress was raised by a Roman Catholic mother and Quaker dad who encouraged her to find her own spiritual path. “My family is liberal. I was raised in the “you can be whatever you want” kind of way. And in the end, I was like, “Eh”, she was quoted as saying.

Orlando Bloom

This English actor was raised in the Church of England but in 2004, he became a follower of Nichiren Buddhism, and a member of Soka Gakkai International (an international Nichiren Buddhist organisation). Bloom converted formally at SGI’s headquarters in England. “The philosophy that I’ve embraced isn’t about sitting under a tree and studying my navel, it’s about studying what is going on in my daily life and using that as fuel to go and live a bigger life,” he was quoted as saying in an interview.

Dave Chappelle

Not many know that comedian Dave Chappelle converted to Islam. And it came as a surprise to many especially because his mother was the first ordained African-American woman Unitarian Universalist minister. Under the influence of his brother who converted to Islam, Chapelle too converted to it in 1998. He took a sudden hiatus in 2005, from the third season of his then-popular comedy show titled The Dave Chappelle Show. Later he told Time magazine that the break was for him to reflect on his Islamic faith. “I don’t normally talk about my religion publicly because I don’t want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is beautiful if you learn it the right way,” he was quoted as saying.

Them, too!

*Sharmila Tagore converted to Islam when she married Nawab Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and also took a new name, Begum Ayesha.
*Hema Malini wanted to wed Dharmendra but he was already married to his first wife who refused to divorce him.  In order to marry each other,  he converted to Islam in 1979.
*The late Nargis continued to be called Nargis Dutt after her marriage to Sunil Dutt, despite having changed her religion to Hinduism. Her Hindu name was Nirmala.
*Actress Pooja Bedi converted to Islam to marry husband Farhan Furniturewalla. They got divorced later.