Katie Holmes has officially registered as a parishioner of the Church of St Francis Xavier in Manhattan, according to an article in the Huffington Post.

The act is sure to be taken as a deliberate attempt to officially distance herself from Scientology, the religion she joined when she embarked on her romantic life with megastar Scientologist Tom Cruise.

Religion has been a source of media speculation surrounding the couple since the then 26-year-old B-lister and the then 43-year-old A-lister came together in 2005. Holmes was a practicing Catholic (as Cruise himself had once been), but the couple's PR reps quickly let it be known that she was "studying" Scientology. It was revealed before much longer that she had joined her new man's faith.

New York Magazine called it as many saw it that year when it said, "The reeducation of Katie Holmes, the Manchurian Fiancée, continues apace."

But if they were widely seen as an example of an egomaniacal control freak and a star-struck doormat, Cruise and Holmes seemed happy. They made movies of varying success, traveled the world, and were doting parents to a daughter named Suri.

Holmes's divorce filing took everyone (including, reportedly, her husband) by surprise. Many are casting her move as a desperate break for freedom, but - publicly, at least - Holmes is making nice with Cruise, and with Scientology.

The couple has released a statement expressing "our respect for each other's commitment to each of our respective beliefs and support each other's roles as parents." 

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