Hubbard and his children in December They are testing a device called an E-meter, which Scientologists say measures the body's electric flow as an auditor asks a series of questions that they say reveals sources of trauma.
Hubbard works in his greenhouse in December Hubbard in the south of France in May Hubbard talks with reporters in his office in Many groups and individuals have challenged Scientology's legitimacy as a religion. Scientologists have faced opposition from the medical community over the religion's claims about mental health, from the scientific community over its claims about its E-meters and from other religious groups about its status as a religion.
Hubbard poses for a portrait in New York in January He died in The entrance to the Los Angeles headquarters of the church in March Confetti rains down as actor Tom Cruise, left, embraces David Miscavige, the leader of the Church of Scientology, at the opening of a new church in Madrid in September Cruise is one of the world's most prominent Scientologists.
Miscavige speaks during the inauguration of the Madrid church in September Scientology made headlines in June when Cruise got into a heated debate with "Today" host Matt Lauer over psychiatric drugs. The Church of Scientology's website says that "the effects of medical and psychiatric drugs, whether painkillers, tranquilizers or 'antidepressants,' are as disastrous" as illicit drugs. A volunteer from the Church of Scientology touches an injured woman in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the devastating earthquake there in January In November , Miscavige dedicates the massive Clearwater building as the church's new spiritual headquarters.
After serving in World War II, Hubbard published a series of articles and then a book on a what he described as a new approach to mental health, which he called Dianetics. His book by the same name quickly became a best-seller.
The success provoked Hubbard to establish a foundation that began to train people in his auditing techniques. In , the first Church of Scientology opened in Los Angeles, with other churches opening soon after. Hubbard died in The church is now led by David Miscavige. Why is the church so controversial? For a long time, the Internal Revenue Service denied the Scientologists' attempts to be declared a church with tax-exempt status. Tom Cruise has perhaps supplanted Travolta as the biggest celebrity proponent of the church.
In recent years, he has spoken publicly about his role in the religion. His first wife, the actress Mimi Rogers, who is now thought to have left the church, first exposed Cruise to the Scientology.
Cruise credits scientology for helping his career, and is now publicly advocating for the church to be accepted as an official religion in Europe. Scientology is a controversial religion, though its proponents argue that all religions begin as controversial and over time become more accepted by mainstream society. Scientologists do have some controversial practices, though, such as suing anyone who makes statements that the church deems not good for the image of the church or publicly criticizing members who have chosen to leave the church.
Only time will tell whether Scientology's rate of growth will continue or slow over time. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Ani is a fan of exploring new places through photography and the local cuisine. Career Training USA is a cultural exchange program that enables current university students and young professionals from all over the world to pursue internships in the U.
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Please scroll down and read this document. Check the "I Agree" box and click the button to accept. I Agree. To find out more about Dianetics and Scientology principles and their use, request a free catalog of books, audiobooks, films and lectures. Curious about yourself? Your first step to find out more can be as simple as a free personality test. According to De Vocht, many lacked a driver's licence or a passport.
Few had any savings or employment prospects. As people fell out of the game, Miscavige had aeroplane reservations made for them. He said that buses were going to be leaving at 6am. The powerlessness of everyone else in the room was nakedly clear. Davis told me that a musical chairs episode did occur. He explained that Miscavige had been away from the Gold Base for some time, and when he returned he discovered that in his absence many jobs had been reassigned.
The game was meant to demonstrate that even seemingly small changes can be disruptive to an organisation — underscoring an "administrative policy of the church". The rest of the defectors' accounts, Davis told me, was "hoo-ha": "Chairs being ripped apart, and people being threatened that they're going to be sent to far-flung places in the world, plane tickets being purchased, and they're going to force their spouses — and on and on and on.
I mean, it's just nuts! The church provided me with 11 statements from Scientologists, all of whom said that Miscavige had never been violent. The church characterises Scobee, Rinder, Rathbun, De Vocht and other defectors I spoke with as "discredited individuals" who were demoted for incompetence or expelled for corruption; the defectors' accounts are consistent only because they have "banded together to advance and support each other's false 'stories'". A few nights after the musical chairs incident, he got on his motorcycle and waited until a gate was opened for someone else; he sped out and didn't stop.
Haggis called several other former Scientologists he knew well. One said he had escaped from the Gold Base by driving his car through a wooden fence.
Still others had been expelled or declared Suppressive Persons. Haggis asked himself, "What kind of organisation are we involved in where people just disappear? At his house, Haggis finished telling his friends what he had learned. The stories on the site, of children drafted into the Sea Org, appalled him. My God, it horrified me! Many Sea Org volunteers find themselves with no viable options for adulthood.
The church says it adheres to "all child labour laws", and that minors can't sign up without parental consent; the freeloader tabs are an "ecclesiastical matter" and are not enforced through litigation. Haggis's friends came away from the meeting with mixed feelings. This would be the last time most of them spoke to him. In the days after, church officials and members came to his office, distracting his producing partner, Michael Nozik, who is not a Scientologist.
In October , Rathbun called Haggis and asked if he could publish the resignation letter on his blog. Haggis says he didn't think about the consequences of his decision: "I thought it would show up on a couple of websites. I'm a writer, I'm not Lindsay Lohan. The next morning, the story was in newspapers around the world. At the time Haggis was doing his research, the FBI was conducting its own investigation. One was Gary Morehead, who had been the head of security at the Gold Base; he left the church in In 13 years, he estimates, he and his security team brought more than Sea Org members back to the base.
When emotional, spiritual or psychological pressure failed to work, Morehead says, physical force was sometimes used. The church says that blow drills do not exist. Whitehill and Venegas worked on a special task force devoted to human trafficking.
The California penal code lists several indicators: signs of trauma or fatigue; being afraid or unable to talk; owing a debt to one's employer. Those conditions echo the testimony of many former Sea Org members.
Sea Org members who have "failed to fulfil their ecclesiastical responsibilities" may be sent to one of the church's several Rehabilitation Project Force locations. Defectors describe them as punitive re-education camps. He recalls that the properties were heavily guarded and that anyone who tried to flee would be subjected to further punishment.
Davis says that Sea Org members enter RPF by their own choosing and can leave at any time; the manual labour maintains church facilities and instils "pride of accomplishment". Defectors also talked to the FBI about Miscavige's luxurious lifestyle. The law prohibits the head of a tax-exempt organisation from enjoying unusual perks or compensation; it's called inurement.
Davis refused to disclose how much money Miscavige earns, and the church isn't required to do so, but Headley and other defectors suggest that Miscavige lives more like a Hollywood star than like the head of a religious organisation — flying on chartered jets and wearing custom-made shoes. The church denies this characterisation and "vigorously objects to the suggestion that Church funds inure to the private benefit of Mr Miscavige. He was unhappy with Miscavige, his former brother-in-law, whom he considered "detrimental to the goals of Scientology".
It was Tommy Davis; he and 19 church members had tracked Brousseau down. Brousseau locked himself in his room and called Rathbun, who alerted the police; Davis went home without Brousseau. In a deposition given in July, Davis said no when asked if he had ever "followed a Sea Organisation member that has blown [fled the church]". Under further questioning, he insisted that he was only trying "to see a friend of mine". Davis now calls Brousseau "a liar".
Brousseau says his defection caused anxiety, in part because he had worked on a series of special projects for Tom Cruise. Cruise says he was introduced to the church in by his first wife Mimi Rogers she denies this , and Miscavige has called him "the most dedicated Scientologist I know". When Cruise married Katie Holmes in , Miscavige was his best man. In , Miscavige showed Cruise a Harley-Davidson motorcycle he owned.
Brousseau recalls, "Cruise asked me, 'God, could you paint my bike like that? Miscavige's official title is chairman of the board of the Religious Technology Centre, but he dominates the entire organisation.
His word is absolute, and he imposes his will even on some of the people closest to him. According to Rinder and Brousseau, in June , while Miscavige was away from the Gold Base, his wife, Shelly, filled several job vacancies without her husband's permission.
Soon afterwards, she disappeared. Her current status is unknown. Davis told me, "I definitely know where she is", but he wouldn't disclose where that is. In late September, Davis and other church representatives met with me. In response to nearly a thousand queries, the Scientology delegation handed over 48 binders of supporting material. Davis attacked the credibility of Scientology defectors, whom he calls "bitter apostates".
We discussed the allegations of abuse lodged against Miscavige. He produced affidavits from other Scientologists refuting the accusations, and noted that the tales about Miscavige always hinged on "inexplicable violent outbursts".
Davis said, "One would think that if such a thing occurred — which it most certainly did not — there'd have to be a reason. I had wondered about these stories as well. While Rinder and Rathbun were in the church, they had repeatedly claimed that allegations of abuse were baseless. Then, after Rinder defected, he said Miscavige had beaten him 50 times. Rathbun has confessed that in he ordered incriminating documents destroyed in the case of Lisa McPherson, the Scientologist who died of an embolism.
If these men were capable of lying to protect the church, might they not also be capable of lying to destroy it? Davis later claimed that Rathbun is in fact trying to overthrow Scientology's current leadership and take over the church. Rathbun now makes his living by providing Hubbard-inspired counselling to other defectors, but says he has no desire to be part of a hierarchical organisation.
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