Hollywood actor Tom Cruise has reportedly been singled out by Scientology leaders as the "Christ" of the cult-like religion and destined to spread the word of Scientology around the world.

Leader David Miscavige believes that in years to come the actor will be worshipped like Jesus for his efforts to raise the profile of the religion.

"Tom has been told he's Scientology's Christ-like figure," a source told The Sun. "Like Christ, he's been criticised for his views. But future generations will realise he was right."

But when she asked a public elementary school in Aspen, Colorado, to teach yoga in 2002, Christian fundamentalists and even some secular parents lobbied the school board. They argued that yoga's Hindu roots conflicted with Christian teachings and that using it in school might violate the separation of church and state.

Portrayed as a New Age nut out to brainwash young minds, Guber crafted a new curriculum that eliminated chanting and translated Sanskrit into kid-friendly English. Yogic panting became "bunny breathing," and "meditation" became "time in."

"I stripped every piece of anything that anyone could vaguely construe as spiritual or religious out of the program," Guber said.

Now, more than 100 schools in 26 states have adopted Guber's "Yoga Ed." program and more than 300 physical education instructors have been trained in it.