Danny Masterson Defends Scientology, Tells Detractors to "F--- Yourself"

Scientology is usually a very touchy subject with celebrities, but in a new interview with Paper magazine, Danny Masterson gets quite candid about the religion he has been practicing nearly his entire life.

The That 70's Show actor says he began coursework sometime between 8 and 10 years old, but it was when he was 15, and specifically when he read Dianetics, that he began to dive deeply into the world of Scientology. "It just blew my mind," he said. "I was like, 'That's the reason why I have the thoughts that I have and don't want them, or why I behave in a certain way when something happens and I don't know why.'"

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Masterson, 38, emphasized how the teachings of Scientology focus more on learning and knowledge than religion specifically. "I noticed that any times I had trouble studying anything, there was really great literature on how to study, which made learning really easy for myself and my friends," he said. "In Scientology, there's no belief system or anyone who's worshipped [sic] or whatnot; it's all sort of like college of the mind."

Masterson even went so far as to compare Scientology courses to college classes. "It's cheaper than college," he said. "You could argue how expensive college is and then the debt for the next 10 years -- and then how often do you use all of that information? I feel like I got the better end of the deal on that one."

Although he opened up about Scientology in the interview, Masterson admitted he hasn't always been quite as forthcoming. "I've never been given a hard time my entire life about my belief system or my philosophy in life. Literally never once in 38 years. If people start like asking questions in a way where I feel like they have an ulterior motive, I'm just like, 'Dude, just go buy a f---ing book and read it and decide for your f---ing self what it means. I don't have time to have this conversation with you.'"

In fact, Masterson said he "has no problem" talking about Scientology. I love doing it," he said. "I work, I have a family and I'm a spiritual being who likes to understand why things happen in the world and want to learn more so that I can have them not affect me adversely. So if that's weird, then, well, you can go f--- yourself."

Check out the full interview at Paper magazine for Masterson's thoughts on former Scientologist Paul Haggis, psychiatry and more.

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