The fall of the house of scientology

[KEND]

Drama in St Petes-
New Allegations Cap Bad Year for Scientology:
Paul Wachter
Contributor

AOL News (March 8) -- New accusations from two Scientology defectors are the latest in a growing list of abuse allegations that have been leveled against the church in the past year -- possibly its most difficult in the 50-odd years since it was created by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.
On Saturday, The New York Times weighed in with a long article focusing on a couple in Sea Organization -- a group of the religion's elite staff members -- who said they worked long hours for a pittance. Once they decided to leave they were forced to "sign false confessions about their personal lives and their work, pay the church thousands of dollars it said they owed for courses and counseling, and accept the consequences as their parents, siblings and friends who are church members cut off all communication with them," according to the Times.
Scientologists believe that human beings are inhibited by their past lives and can only reach self-actualization through a series of formal studies, including one-on-one "auditing" sessions, a long and expensive process. The church also renounces many of the claims of medical health professionals and offers up its own purification rituals involving vitamins and saunas. And while Scientology has long been criticized by outsiders, the past year's allegations have come largely from former members.

Phil McCarten, AP
The Church of Scientology, long criticized by outsiders, now faces accusations from two Scientology defectors. Here, the church's Celebrity Centre International in Los Angeles is shown.
The first and most damning shot came from the St. Petersburg Times, which in June began publishing an investigative series on the church, which is based in nearby Clearwater, Fla., and its leader, David Miscavige. According to top Scientology executives who have since broken with the church, Miscavige routinely hits Scientology staff members. Also, the newspaper alleged the church's purification rituals have led to at least one death, and that church officials harass and intimidate defectors.
Meanwhile, Scientology officials have responded as they have to previous allegations -- they've denied everything and said that the disgruntled ex-members are apostates who can't be trusted. There are signs, however, that some members are becoming disillusioned.
Scientology leaders have long sought out and coddled celebrities -- Tom Cruise is the church's most famous member, and John Travolta is not far behind. But in October, Paul Haggis, director of the Oscar-winning movie "Crash," penned a withering resignation letter to the church that was leaked to the press.
A 35-year member, Haggis said he objected to the San Diego church branch's support of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, and he also referenced the allegations of the St. Petersburg Times. Haggis said he was shocked at some of the denials by church executives about policies he knew to exist. "I was left feeling outraged, and frankly, more than a little stupid," he wrote.
Haggis is not alone. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, 45,000 Americans identified themselves as Scientologists in 1990, and 55,000 did in 2001. But in 2008, that number plummeted to 25,000. It's well short of the millions of followers Scientology leaders claim, both in the United States and abroad, where the church often is not officially recognized alongside other religions. (In comparison, in 2008 there were 342,000 self-identified Wiccans.)
If that trend continues, Scientology isn't likely to survive many of our lifetimes -- let alone the billions of years the church promises its "immortal" adherents.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

So what?

Religious followers are waking up to the scam they are caught in?

Happens all the time. lol

[cerebus]

So what?

Religious followers are waking up to the scam they are caught in?

Happens all the time. lol

Well, yeah, but some people have taken an interest in Scientology and so may find the article posted to be of interest. If you wish to exclude that information from your brain, don't click on the thread, eh?

[zenshiite]

They've also recently gotten themselves into some trouble for using clips from Star Wars in recruitment videos with the studio's permission. Neither Lucasfilm nor 20th Century Fox authorized that usage.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

cerebus-

my comment was my opinion on the piece.
what is your malfunction man?

[cerebus]

My malfunction? I dunno, I probably have a number of different malfunctions. Which one would you like more information about?

Ken just posted an informational article and you seemed to be snapping at him for doing so. I just pointed out that if you don't care for the subject you could simply avoid it rather than snapping at Ken about it.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

My remark wasn't towards ken, it was 'about' the article and it's content.

Man, you read a lot into stuff. Do you always do that?
Doesn't it impede you from understanding a subject? lol

[cerebus]

Man, you read a lot into stuff. Do you always do that?
Doesn't it impede you from understanding a subject? lol

Yes, I always interpret the words words written on a page according to how they seem to me. So do you. So does everyone. Does it impede understanding? Sometimes. The rest of the time it's what actually creates understanding. That's just how the human mind works.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

Man, you read a lot into stuff. Do you always do that?
Doesn't it impede you from understanding a subject? lol

Yes, I always interpret the words words written on a page according to how they seem to me. So do you. So does everyone. Does it impede understanding? Sometimes. The rest of the time it's what actually creates understanding. That's just how the human mind works.

Well, yours is working funny then. lol

[qiphlow]

They've also recently gotten themselves into some trouble for using clips from Star Wars in recruitment videos ...

really? that's pretty funny!

[cerebus]

Man, you read a lot into stuff. Do you always do that?
Doesn't it impede you from understanding a subject? lol

Yes, I always interpret the words words written on a page according to how they seem to me. So do you. So does everyone. Does it impede understanding? Sometimes. The rest of the time it's what actually creates understanding. That's just how the human mind works.

Well, yours is working funny then. lol

Funny is good. This world needs more funny...

[GrahamB]

You guys are being very oppressive. Don't you know that Scientologists are the only people that can really help anybody?

[Darth Rock&Roll]

Tom Cruise is a fucking retard though. I think that much is made clear everytime he opens his mouth and he's not reiterating scripted lines...and even then... lol

[cdobe]

You guys are being very oppressive. Don't you know that Scientologists are the only people that can really help anybody?

You would have to say suppressive!

[GrahamB]

You guys are being very oppressive. Don't you know that Scientologists are the only people that can really help anybody?

You would have to say suppressive!

Cdobe - you are a Potential Trouble Source! (PTS)