The Church of Scientology is a truly sensational religion. The ratio of controversy to fact is of such a magnitude that one scarcely knows where to begin. Almost every aspect of the creation, theology, organisation and practice of this religion is the subject of endless dispute. It seems as though every claim is met with counter-claims.
Its founder, Lafayette Ronald Hubbert, is described in the official Church of Scientology biographies as some kind of genius, who excelled in an astonishing array of fields. He is said to have travelled and studied with holy men in the East, where he was made a lama priest. However, as with everything in this religion, the official spin is not entirely credible.
Hubbert was a science fiction writer, who took ideas he had developed in his stories, specifically concerning Dianetics, and turned them into a religion. There are many reports that Hubbard cynically decided to create a new religion, which would focus on self-help ideas, simply as a way of making himself wealthy.
According to Hubbert, Scientology is based on years of intensive research into the nature of human existence. What he claimed to have discovered was a set of beliefs, which he called an applied religious philosophy. These beliefs are centred on the notion that a human being is an immortal, alien spiritual entity, who has forgotten their true nature. Scientology offers its practitioners a method of spiritual rehabilitation. This is achieved through auditing, in which a person re-experiences painful and traumatic events from their past, in order to overcome their limiting effects. The achievement of this aim enables one to become certain of one's spiritual being and one's relationship with the Supreme Being. This process is gained by passing through a number of clearly demarcated stages, culminating in Operating Thetan, which unlocks all a person's hidden abilities and renders them disease free. The Church of Scientology provides its members with study materials and courses to facilitate this process in return for specified donations. If this sounds indistinguishable from a commercial enterprise to you, the Church will point out that it is exempt taxes, which proves its status as a bona fide religion.
Unfortunately however, rather than turning members into immortal, demi-deities, providing a perfect paradise in the here and now, the practices of the Church of Scientology appear to have an extremely negative impact on members. Certainly, there are many such examples. However, before turning to specific examples, it would be useful to consider the general techniques employed by the Church.
Disconnection is a classical practice of cults and it is not surprizing to discover that its use by the Church is routine and systematic. The technique is simple enough. Recruits are required to cut all ties with friends and family who are in any way critical of the faith. The beauty of this technique is that it makes the recruit totally dependent on the Church for their social support network, thus rendering apostasy extremely difficult, to say the least. The Church responds to any criticism of this technique by pointing out that shunning is an established, time-hallowed, religious tradition.
Once someone has been recruited, the next step is naturally to subject them to that other well known classical technique of brain-washing. Indeed, the Church has a whole sub-organisation devoted to the promotion of this practice, the Rehabilitation Project Force, and Hubbert even wrote a manual of instruction on the subject, although he claimed it was about recognising brain-washing in order to counter it.
The church also has members sign legally binding contracts, which require the recruit to repudiate any recourse to mental health care and place themselves entirely in the hands of the Church. The significance of this has been revealed and underlined in a number of tragic cases, such as the Australian woman, who was charged with murdering her father and sister and seriously injuring her mother. Her family had been prevented from obtaining the psychiatric care she obviously needed by her Scientology beliefs.
In a widely publicised case, a thirty-six year old woman, Lisa McPherson, died whilst under the care of the Church. She had clearly displayed symptoms of mental illness, including removing all her clothes at the scene of a traffic accident, but the Church insisted she should not receive psychiatric care. Instead, they placed her isolation as a part of their programme known as Introspection Rundown. Weeks later she was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. The autopsy showed she had multiple bruises and abrasions and recorded the cause of death as pulmonary embolism. The authorities charged the Church, which denied responsibility and vigorously contested. The case was dropped. However, a civil action was brought by the relatives; the settlement details of which were sealed by the court.
In another case a student, Noah Lottick, committed suicide by jumping from a tenth-floor hotel window. Bizarrely he was clutching his only remaining money as he fell. His family and friends claimed his actions were a direct result of his involvement in the Church of Scientology. They said he had only begun to act strangely after paying for and taking Scientology courses. His parents said he had told them that his Scientology teachers were telepathic and he accused his parents of spreading false rumours about him.
Lottick's father, Dr Edward Lottick, said that at first he had the impression that the Church's techniques were similar to the Dale Carnegie self-help approach. However, he had come to the conclusion that it was in fact a school for psychopaths. His views were published by Time magazine and in response the Church sued for millions of dollars and issued a press release denying responsibility and asserting that Edward Lottick should look in the mirror. The case was eventually dismissed.
This is not an isolated or extreme example of how the Church of Scientology deals with controversy. As a matter of policy the Church takes a pro-active, hostile and aggressive approach to any public criticism. It has famously boasted that it is not a turn the other cheek religion. When journalists, politicians, former members and anti-cult groups have made accusations of wrong-doing, the Church has invariably targeted these individuals and organisations for retaliation.
People who have been criticial of Scientology have been subject to threats, harassment, law suits, and public accusations of personal wrong-doing. This is a direct result of a formal policy instituted by Hubbert, known as attack the attacker. In this policy Hubbert laid out the procedure for dealing with criticisms. First, identify the person who is attacking the Church. Second, investigate them personally. Third, reply to their criticisms by welcoming an investigation of them. Fourth, feed the media with lurid stories about them. The point is to make it as difficult as possible for anyone to criticise the Church. Hubbert was perfectly clear, if someone criticises the Church, they should suffer. Indeed, in one document, Hubbert described critics as fair game, who could be deprived of their property or injured by any means; they may be tricked, lied to, sued or destroyed. The Church claims that this policy is no longer in force. However, many critics believe that the Church has merely changed its words, but not its practice. And indeed, lawyers for the Church of Scientology have on occasion claimed that the fair game policy is core belief of the religion and thus deserves protection.
Given such policies and practices, it is not surprizing that many of the senior members of the Church have been charged with and found guilty of serious criminal offences, particularly fraud and other economic crimes. Indeed, in 1978 Mary Hubbert, the founder's wife and second in charge of the Church, was found guilty of espionage. The judge described her plea of freedom of religion as an audacity that defied the imagination and asserted that the Church's standards were no less than the absolute perversion of any known ethical value system. Hubbert himself was tried and convicted, in absentia, by the French authorities for fraud. He was fined and sentenced to four years imprisonment. However, the complete list of crimes would be too tedious to reiterate. The latest in the series of high profile cases also occurred in France, where not only were senior members found guilty of wrong-doing, but the Church of Scientology itself.
Nevertheless, I suppose one would have to judge Hubbert's project an outstanding success. It is claimed that he had a wager in a bar with Robert Heinlein that he could create a cult, and many others report that he repeatedly stated that he would create a religion for the purpose of making him wealthy. By this criterion, it is clear that he succeeded beyond any reasonable expectation. The Church of Scientology is estimated to make around half a billion dollars a year. As Hubbert said, the truth is whatever is true for you.
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