The Handmaid's Tale star Elisabeth Moss defends belief in Scientology after question from fan

Elisabeth Moss, the star of TV series The Handmaid’s Tale, has spoken out to defend her belief in Scientology.

The controversial, highly-secretive religion has a big base of celebrity followers including Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

Part of its doctrine is the belief that humans are haunted by the spirits of aliens brought to Earth in spaceships and massacred with hydrogen bombs by a galactic warlord called Xenu 75 million years ago.

But one fan of The Handmaid’s Tale, adapted from Margaret Attwood’s 1985 dystopian novel, took to Instagram to probe Moss about her own beliefs.

Underneath a post about her excitement for the second series, the fan asked Moss about the perceived similarities between Gilead, the fictional fundamentalist regime in the show, and Scientology.

The user, named Moelybanks, wrote. “Love this adaptation so much. Question though, does it make you think twice about Scientology? Both Gilead and Scientology both believe that all outside sources (aka news) are wrong or evil… it’s just very interesting.”

Moss, who plays Offred in the series, took the unusual step of responding to the fan directly in the comments.

“That’s actually not true at all about Scientology," she said. "Religious freedom and tolerance and understanding the truth and equal rights for every race, religion and creed are extremely important to me. The most important things to me probably.

“And so Gilead and THT hit me on a very personal level. Thanks for the interesting question!”

Moss, who previously starred in Mad Men and The West Wing, ended her reply with a ‘kiss’ emoji.

The fan said she appreciated the response, adding: “Unfortunately that’s the only information that we have on your religion based on what the general public hear if we are not a part of it.”

Scientology has been accused of being a cult and a money-making business, although the Church denies the allegations.

Several films, including Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie, have struggled to expose the inner workings of the religion, which was developed by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard in 1952.

Moss previously said of Scientology: "It's a better you, not necessarily changing who you are."