When she was profiled in the September issue of Elle Magazine, Julia Roberts announced that she was “definitely a practicing Hindu.” She said that the whole Roberts-Moder household would go to Hindu temples to “chant and pray and celebrate.” Then last week, the National Enquirer ran a “Oh My Vishnu, Julia Roberts Is a Hindu, Isn’t That Scary?” story all about how Danny Moder was really upset because Julia “forced” the kids into Hindu temples. The Enquirer claimed Danny was and is a practicing Catholic, and that Julia is battling him and her own parents because Julia “renamed her youngsters after Hindu gods while they visited India and took them to worship services – which include meditation and the teaching of reincarnation…Danny can’t stand the thought that she seems to have turned her back on the Christian faith to raise their youngsters in the Eastern religion, say sources, and their differences erupted in a fiery confrontation at their Malibu home in early August.” SO SCARY.

Anyway, Julia went to Japan to promote Eat, Pray, Love, and she got a lot of questions about the whole “practicing Hindu” thing. But Julia didn’t take the bait, instead telling journalists, ““I’ve realized something my mother told me 22 years ago. You’re an actor, act. Don’t talk about politics or religion.” Um… good for her. Seriously.

Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts isn’t planning any more spiritual journeys now that she is done making a film based on the hit book “Eat Pray Love.” The movie, inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir, follows the story of a frustrated divorcee who decides to take a long trip oversees in search of some peace in Italy, India and Bali.

Roberts, a happily married mother of three, said she read and enjoyed the book long before it came across her desk as a proposed movie script and jumped at the chance to play the leading role. But she added she isn’t looking to make any big alterations in her own life.

“No, no changes,” Roberts said Wednesday in Tokyo, where she is promoting the movie’s release. “I’m good.”

Roberts, who was raised a Catholic but is a practicing Hindu, said the film offered her a chance to draw from her own experiences, but said she had been interested in Hinduism before she came across the book and that she did not convert because of the shooting.
Beyond that, she said she would keep her beliefs to herself.

“I’ve realized something my mother told me 22 years ago,” she said. “You’re an actor, act. Don’t talk about politics or religion.”

One departure for Roberts, 42, does lie ahead.

Since her box-office breakthrough in 1990’s “Pretty Woman,” Roberts has done little TV work, but she is now working as a producer of a documentary series called “Extraordinary Moms” set to debut in January on Oprah Winfrey’s new cable network.

Roberts’ next big-screen project is “Larry Crowne,” which has been shooting in Southern California in recent months and is set for release next year. The movie reunites her with leading man Tom Hanks. On her work – and her longevity as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars – she said her inspiration has never waned.

“Loving what you do is the secret to everything,” she said. “I really do love the creative part of making movies.”

[From Huffington Post]

I kind of like how Julia shut it down so quickly, because it could have been a mess. Half of my family is Hindu, and I know how completely un-scary and un-disturbing the Hindu faith is, and the idea of Julia’s remarks becoming some kind of international religious controversy was not something I was looking forward to. So… I give Julia a pass today. Well done, Jules. I won’t even talk smack about this hideous dress: