Actress Carmen Llywelyn spent eight years immersed in the Church of Scientology. Since leaving, she penned an essay for Gawker entitled "Why I Left Scientology," that details her troubling history with the religion. <br /> <br />"The reality of Scientology is deceptively hidden and cleverly disguised. When I look at Scientology today, I have to forgive myself for not seeing through the manipulation sooner," she writes. "It hasn't been easy, but I've realized that the religion is built on a foundation of violence." <br /> <br />Carmen's ex-husband, actor Jason Lee (My Name is Earl, anyone?) introduced her to the church. <br /> <br />When Carmen, 41, first set foot in the church's Celebrity Centre, at the age of 20, she describes getting a "horrible feeling," but she pursued the religion to save her marriage. <br /> <br />"When I think back, I believe a part of me knew if I didn't accept Scientology the marriage would be over before it even started. Regardless of how different I feel about Jason and Scientology today, I was very much in love with the guy and wanted our marriage to work. I did what I thought was right. But I made the mistake of immersing myself completely in his world. I did what so many other people who join Scientology do: I lost all sense of individual identity in the name of the cult." <br /> <br />"As we kept going, it occurred to me how unreal and expensive Scientology was going to be," she said, adding that she realized that membership would cost her upwards of $50,000. "To me, Scientology seemed more of a surreal lifestyle for the privileged than a kind of belief system." <br /> <br />http://gawker.com/why-i-left-scientology-1703997050 <br /> <br />http://www.redbookmag.com/life/news/a37902/carmen-llywelyn-essay-why-she-left-scientology/ <br /> <br />http://gawker.com/a-comprehensive-updated-list-of-every-celebrity-linked-1694554276
