‘Orange Is the New Black’ Alum Laura Prepon Reveals She Left Scientology

Actress Laura Prepon has left the Church of Scientology behind. The Orange Is the New Black alum has long been associated with Scientology, but this week she told an interviewer from PEOPLE that she actually left the religion about five years ago. Prepon said that she is open to many religions, but that Scientology is “no longer a part of” her life at all.

“I’m no longer practicing Scientology,” Prepon said. “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 said that her spiritual practice consists mainly of simple meditation these days, which she does along with her husband, fellow actor Ben Foster.

“We meditate daily and I’m really liking it because it’s something that helps me to hear my own voice and it’s something we can do together,” she said. The Orange Is the New Black star also talked a lot about motherhood in the interview, implying in some ways that having her daughter was one of the catalysts for leaving Scientology behind.

“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,” the actress 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.”

Scientology is a popular religion, especially in the Hollywood area, and the Church has a lot of social and economic influence. However, allegations of abuse have accumulated over the years, most notably in the documentary Going Clear on HBO. Prepon is not the first celebrity to publicly distance herself from the Church.

It is not exactly clear when Prepon first became involved in Scientology, though her last public remarks about the religion came in 2015 when she appeared on the cover of the affiliated magazine Celebrity. At the time, she said that practicing the religion had helped ease her anxiety.

“In my life, things have become much easier, I’m not affected like I used to be,” she said at the time. “Things don’t bother me that had before. I don’t react like I did before. I remember I was doing a show with an amazing actor, and we were waiting to hear the fate of our show. He turned to me one day and asked, ‘How are you always so relaxed? Nothing seems to bother you. I want to know what you are doing.’ I take that as such a compliment and testament to the auditing I have done.”