1.7 million viewers watched the premiere broadcast of HBO’s Scientology documentary, Going Clear. It was the most-watched documentary premiere in nearly a decade. And that’s a great thing for the opponents to the “religion” who would like nothing more than an end to the Church of Scientology.
What happens now?
The main point of the film was to uncover many of the abuses the church allegedly heaps on its followers; including but not limited to, slave labor, verbal abuses, psychological manipulation, threats of alienation from family and friends, kidnapping, and even on site imprisonment, all the while fleecing members out of thousands, even millions, of dollars in expensive courses and auditing sessions in hopes members become “clear.” The process of which means being free of “body thetans,” or mystical negative entities akin to parasites that take up residence in one’s body, like an ecclesiastic tapeworm. Reportedly one of the biggest human rights offenders the church employs is the SeaOrg, which appears to be some sort of make-believe naval operation wherein the most dedicated members, like clergy, sign billion year contracts to basically do menial duties for just pennies a day on the church’s seafaring vessels, including the Freewinds, a cruise ship that caters to upper members of the church and celebrities. It is staffed entirely by SeaOrg members who are expected to live in residence in communal housing and perform upwards of 100 hours per week toiling for Scientology.
But living out one’s existence laboring in the SeaOrg is just one hideaway that allegedly also functions to abuse members. There’s something likened to indentured servitude in that members are shuttled away to work long hours onsite in the seemingly cavernous structures of Scientology, separated from their children and families, cleaning buildings with practically their bare hands or armed with toothbrushes. Apparently this is a popular form of punishment (brainwashing?) for those related to or who are SPs, “Suppressive Persons,” (those who begin questioning the tenants of Scientology). Without their consent, but supposedly for their own good, these potential “SPs” are shuttled off to the SeaOrg or one of these other servitude programs until they are reconditioned to Scientology’s beliefs and are able to reject the theories of SPs.
As the millions watching discovered — if we’re being honest what sounds like a cult/pyramid scheme or something in between — many began to wonder, and even on social media began to ask how Scientology has been able to work its way into the cultural habitat of society under the guise of being some sort of religious order? What seems more and more likely is that it’s really an elaborate way for select individuals, many of whom appear to have God complexes, to wield power and do unto followers whatever they choose under the protection of the Church. And it’s been successful thus far at keeping at bay anyone who would attempt to tear it down.
The construction of its chosen wall of armor has been carefully cultivated since the beginning — and it’s genius. “Get very, very wealthy people to give you their money and tell you all of their secrets under the ruse of achieving unmatched divinity while on the path to enlightenment, and thusly in time they will become nearly supernatural and control the world.” There isn’t much in our society that can’t be controlled with money and secrets — all the better if you can manipulate the most publicly exposed (celebrities) to do so freely. The vulnerable nature of celebrity in itself makes it so many would stop at nothing to have those secrets kept, and by aligning themselves with the protection offered by the church in the event a situation arises that their own handlers can’t quell, that indebts the celebrity to the church, with the church reaping the rewards of influence and favor. Ergo, a win-win for everyone, and anytime anyone starts getting twitchy about the church, Scientology will find a way to reel them back into the fold — that part is imperative. But what about the little people? Well, they’ll just suffer at the hands of those at the top. Amongst the influential you must also have the fanatic devotees. While serving as veritable commoners and serfs, they also give the church its purpose and shield. All of this despite the fact that Scientology is built on an elaborate movie script about aliens from the future. L. Ron. Hubbard, the first “prophet” of Scientology wrote a comic book about things that fly in the night sky and told people it was a creation story.
“According to Hubbard, and Scientology’s creation myth, much of the galaxy was ruled tens of millions of years ago by the Galactic Confederacy, comprising 26 stars and 76 planets, including Earth, then known as Teegeeack. The confederacy was controlled by a tyrant named Xenu, who sent people from other planets to Earth because of over-crowding. Their souls attached themselves in clusters to human bodies, so that each person on Earth became a collection of entities, rather than a single personality. Part of the mission of Scientology is to rid people of these extra entities, known as body thetans. Religious scholar Hugh Urban writes that the Sea Org resembles a group within the Galactic Confederacy, led by Grand Moff William Kuhn, known as the “Loyal Officers” who overthrew Xenu.[1]”
And there were things that we surmised about Scientology before seeing Going Clear that were clarified definitively. We may have thought both John Travolta and Tom Cruise were some sort of Scientology talking heads. That they were little more than bobble-headed spokespersons fed the right things to say about something they were only involved in on a very surface, almost Public Relations-related level. What we find out is that they are both heavily entrenched. They may not be in the positions of power they once thought they would have attained by this point as David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center, is not one to share in omnipotence. Yet, both actors are aware of the church’s ruthless manner; its theories about anyone against the church being “fair game,” as well as the fact abuses may occur to those who run afoul of David Miscavige, or is so reported. Neither have done a thing to speak out about that part of Scientology. Even in Travolta’s carefully chosen words recently regarding the documentary he avoids any personal responsibility. He said to the Tampa Bay Times:
“I haven’t experienced anything that the hearsay has (claimed), so why would I communicate something that wasn’t true for me?” Travolta said. “It wouldn’t make sense, nor would it for Tom, I imagine.”
Travolta called Going Clear a product of “people who were disgruntled with their experiences” with Scientology, while the church “has been nothing but brilliant for me.”
“I’ve been so happy with my (Scientology) experience in the last 40 years,” he said, “that I really don’t have anything to say that would shed light on (a documentary) so decidedly negative.
Those who would like to see Scientology banned say that it would take influential people like Travolta leaving the church to start putting a few chinks in that armor — if banning the church is a reality at all in the U.S.
And how realistic is this? Could the church be banned in the U.S., and is it banned elsewhere? In fact, there are other countries where it is not recognized as a practicing religion. Scientology’s application for the status of recognized religion was refused in Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Romania. Chile considers it a cult, France calls it a secte. The practice was banned in Greece, Russia has debated its existence for years and it is still not generally accepted, and the UK also has a complicated history with Scientology. Right now neither the book, Going Clear, nor the documentary can be shown in the UK due to their strict libel laws and the known litigousness of Scientology. Basically if it’s shown there Miscavige will pounce and open up a whopper of a lawsuit.
So what do some of these countries know that we don’t?
Here are the biggest impediments the U.S. would face in banning Scientology:
The First Amendment
The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.
Since the IRS gave Scientology tax exempt status, it effectively, in the eyes of the law anyway, legitimized its standing as a religion. However, as the director of Going Clear, Alex Gibney, puts it as reported by Salon, “the 1st Amendment should not be a smokescreen to hide human rights abuses and possible criminal activities.”
“false imprisonment, human trafficking, wiretaps, assault, harassment and invasion of privacy,” as well as the church’s policy of making members “disconnect” from their families, Gibney notes that many of the church’s actions are “cruelly at odds with any reasonable definition of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
It’s Lucrative
Fortune reports, “according to Jeffrey Augustine, author of the blog The Scientology Money Project, the church has a book value of $1.75 billion, about $1.5 billion of which is tied up in real estate, mostly at its headquarters in Clearwater and in Hollywood, Calif. The Church also owns property in Seattle, London, and New York, among other places.”
Augustine also estimates that the church collects annual receipts of about $200 million. He says about $125 million comes from the sale of auditing services to its followers, while the remainder comes from donations.
Big Enough Celebs Haven’t Turned Their Backs
Leah Remini can shout to the rafters about Miscavige’s allegedly missing wife, but she’s not one of the highest profile celebrity figureheads of Scientology. So, yes, some real heavyweights would need to start separating from the church, as the documentary suggests. We’d go so far to add that they not only separate, but tell the public why. It won’t change the minds of some true believers, but if big enough celebs start to turn their backs, some of those wealthy donations may start to dry up amid scandal.
Right now reports say the Church is hunkering down and waiting out this most recent storm with a few damage control initiatives, firstly by telling members that viewing and then discussing Going Clear is a negative activity, and by doing so they run the risk of being called out as a SP. The punishment of being labeled an SP for negative gossip could run the gamut from intense auditing to perhaps even exile, wherein your family can no longer communicate with you. And if you do start to ask questions (and those questions will be noted, as well as who asked them), members are directed to the church’s own video that attempts to discredit everything in Going Clear, mostly by saying that it’s old news presented by the same disgruntled former members who have targeted the church in the past.
David Miscavige
Basically painted as an all-seeing, all-knowing viper, Miscavige is probably the biggest impediment to taking Scientology down. If reports are true, he’s ruthless and rules Scientology with an iron fist. There have been numerous reports of his verbal and physical abuse of his staff and other members. He’s been accused of shady practices and dirty dealings within the church for decades. It would also appear that many members of his family have left Scientology, his father being one, while under his leadership. New reports say Miscavige has even had his father targeted and surveilled for fear he’d speak out about things he’s seen and heard Miscavige do. Beyond that, documented in Going Clear, high-ranking former Scientology officials allege Miscavige abducted and placed them in double wide trailers called “The Hole” for years for acts against the church.
In a sting operation that could have rocked Scientology to its core, the FBI planned to seize the campers, catch Miscavige in the act of kidnapping and other human rights abuses, and jail him. In 2012, Village Voice reporter, Tony Ortega reported that the FBI planned to raid Scientology, but Miscavige got wind of it early and used his powerful influence within the law enforcement agency to get the raid shuttered and the investigation shelved. This came as no surprise to high ranking officials within Scientology who have since left the organization. They claim the FBI was no match for Scientology’s reach, and all the while the FBI thought they were operating covertly, Miscavige knew every move they made — his operation is supposedly that sophisticated. In addition, according to Marty Rathbun, the former Inspector General-Ethics of the Religious Technology Center, Miscavige “lords over Scientology from the minute he gets up in the morning and until he goes to bed at night.” Effectively, people are being paid to let Scientology continue.
“We would do a deep, deep study of the lines of command, all the way to the Attorney General in the US or the equivalent in foreign countries. And we’d research any communication leads for that person — their history, their friends. And then hire the rainmakers and pay them whatever you needed to pay them,” Rathbun says. A former executive in the office might be an effective tool, for example, or someone who went to school with the targeted official.
The IRS
The IRS would need to revoke Scientology’s tax exempt status, period. This is the big one. The keys to dismantling Scientology as it stands now would be to remove Miscavige and disengage Scientology from the exemption due to abuses the church has heaped on the very people it has worked hard to prove to the federal agency it guides through religion. Gibney is calling on the IRS to do just that.
To maintain the right to be tax-exempt, however, religions must fulfill certain requirements for charitable organizations. For example, they may not “serve the private interests of any individual” and/or “the organization’s purposes and activities may not be illegal or violate fundamental public policy…. Regarding “private interests,” it seems clear that Scientology is ruled by only one man, David Miscavige. Further, powerful celebrities within the church, particularly Tom Cruise, receive private benefits through the exploitation of low-wage labor (clergy members belonging to the Sea Org make roughly 40 cents an hour) and other use of church assets for his personal gain.”
Revoking tax exempt status isn’t something that’s rarely done — on the contrary it’s been done for a number of reasons — many of which for lesser infractions than the ones hurled at Scientology. What could prove difficult would be getting another investigation set up that’s “pure” of the Miscavige taint. Gibney surmises that he be held to testify in front of Congress about the allegations of abuse, and with regard to the investigation of Scientology as a whole…”follow the money.”
It sounds simple, but we fear that it’s not. However, the biggest stumbling block to stopping Scientology in its current form seemed to be getting the word out, and subsequently keeping pressure on certain agencies in hopes that it spurs action. Possibly, with Going Clear, maybe the hardest part is over.
