"The whole purpose for being a tutor for the kids is not education; it's to get them on to be full-blown zealots at an early age. The thought process is to turn them into zealots," he said.



He recalled watching Cruise's adopted son Connor, now 17, when he visited Scientology's Los Angeles-based Celebrity Center in 2001, around the time of Cruise's split from Kidman.



Connor was 6 years old back then, the same age Suri is now, and Rathbun said he casually introduced the curious tyke to an E-meter — the electronic device that acts like a lie-detector test in Scientology counseling sessions called "auditing."



"I showed him the E-meter, and he was playing around with it. Tom was thrilled, and the next thing you know, they started doing indoctrination with him, within a matter of days," said Rathbun, author of the book "What is Wrong with Scientology?"



"They were talking to him, telling him what it's about, maybe reading to him, translating it to a language he could understand," Rathbun recalled.



Sea Org, started by L. Ron Hubbard aboard a ship in the 1960s, has often been compared to a boot camp and criticized by ex-Scientologists for its military-like conditions. According to the official Scientology website, Sea Org members sign "a one-billion-year pledge to symbolize their eternal commitment to the religion."



Connor Cruise, who was homeschooled by his dad's stern Scientologist sister Cass Mapother, posted a Twitter message Monday that appeared to be a declaration of loyalty.



"La Familia Always. Friends Come And Go, But Family Is Forever," the message read.



Reports suggest Holmes signed a prenup that would give her $3 million for each year of marriage and a $3.5 million home in Montecito, Calif. Cruise has reportedly amassed a fortune of more than $275 million.



With Barbara Ross



ndillon@nydailynews.com