Tom Cruise admitted in a court deposition that Scientology played a role in his divorce from Katie Holmes, according to an copy of the transcript obtained by Radar Online.

The actor made the statement in a deposition taken Sept. 9 in Los Angeles as part of a lawsuit he filed against Bauer Publishing. Cruise suing for $50 million over two tabloid stories that claimed he "abandoned" his 7-year-old daughter, Suri Cruise, after his 2012 divorce from Holmes.

In the deposition, Cruise was asked by a lawyer for Bauer if Holmes left him to "protect" Suri from Scientology.

"I find that question offensive. ... There is no need to protect my daughter from my religion," Cruise responded.

When he was asked if Scientology was "one of the reasons" Holmes left him, Cruise responded, "That was one of the assertions, yes." He also said "there are many different other [sic] aspects to the divorce."

The 51-year-old also revealed Suri is no longer practicing Scientology and that his children with Nicole Kidman, Connor and Isabella, have not had contact with Holmes since their divorce.

Other parts of the deposition focused on Cruise's relationship with Suri. The actor acknowledged he did not see his daughter for more than 100 days last year from Aug. 4 until Thanksgiving. He also had no disputes to claims that between the period of time between June 18 until Thanksgiving 2012 he only saw his daughter for 10 days.

"Unfortunately, in this situation it was impossible," he explained, citing "grueling" filming in London for Edge of Tomorrow. He also talked about a "responsibilty" of being on set even when he is not filming.

Cruise said he has worked hard to develop a phone relationship with his young daughter. 

"You have to work at it," he told the lawyer. "I've gotten very good at it. I've gotten very good at it. I tell wonderful stories and they like hearing it."

Questions also centered on his absense on Suri's first day of school and why he was able to fly from the U.S. to London for a Scientology event but did not make a similar effort to see his daughter. He again responded by citing his filming commitments and coordinating schedules with Holmes.

"When a divorce occurs things change. And it's more complicated...you now have to ask for permission and organize schedules to make things happen. So it wasn't -- it's not an ideal scene. It's not an ideal situation," he said. "What doesn't change is the love I have for my daughter, the fact that I didn't abandon her emotionally, physically or otherwise."

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