Talk of religion no longer taboo in Hollywood

What happens when a Hollywood star spouts off about religion?

If it’s ultimate A-lister Tom Cruise, who has been outspoken about his Scientology beliefs while promoting “War of the Worlds,” the fallout – at least at the box office – appears negligible.

“What counts is box-office success. The religion of Hollywood is money,” says Martin Kaplan, associate dean at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication.

Still, Cruise’s ramblings are considered off-putting among some Hollywood insiders and public relations pros who typically position their celebrity clients in as neutral a spotlight as possible.

“It’s rare that entertainers stick their neck out, because politics and religion are things people get touchy about,” says director Peter Bogdanovich (“The Last Picture Show,” “Paper Moon”). “And besides, it’s a pretty personal thing, religion, so people stay out of it.”

No longer, thanks to the box-office clout of stars such as Mel Gibson.

After mainstream Hollywood studios and distributors spurned “The Passion of the Christ” because some thought it was too violent and included anti-Semitic themes, Gibson, who was forced to finance the film on his own, began discussing his fundamentalist views on Catholicism.

The movie wound up raking in more than $370 million in the United States alone, the most successful R-rated film ever.

“Things have changed a lot in the past year,” says Ray Comfort, author of “What Hollywood Believes: An Intimate Look at the Faith of the Famous” (Genesis, 2004). “Before ‘Passion,’ any talk of religion might have killed a career,” he says. “But the cat’s out of the bag now.”

Adds actor Terrence Howard (“Ray,” “Hustle & Flow”), a Jehovah’s Witness: “Anything that’s dealing with the heart and the spirit is something that should be spoken about, because it lifts and encourages people.”

Some suggest that talking about religious beliefs might simply be part of orchestrated PR campaigns to generate attention.

“People are talking about Tom Cruise more than they ever did in the past five years,” says Variety managing editor Michael Speier.

“He used to be so manufactured. Is he a strange cat? Sure. But are people saying they won’t see a movie with that freak? No.”

The relationship between celebrities and religion can be mutually beneficial.

“Religious groups clearly feel having a celebrity endorsement helps give pizazz and credibility, just like any product that benefits from a celebrity endorser,” says Steve Waldman, editor of beliefnet.com, a multi-faith and spiritual Web site. “It’s particularly true with Scientology or Kabbalah.”

Madonna’s embrace of Kabbalism, the mystical Jewish movement, seemingly has no effect on her singing career.

Richard Gere, a politically active Tibetan Buddhist, once took advantage of his appearance on the Academy Awards telecast to make comments about Chinese repression of Tibet. It got him in hot water with the academy but appears not to have hurt his career.