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| Author | Mike Rinder |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Church of Scientology |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
Publication date | 2022 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type |
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| ISBN | 9781982185763 |
A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology is a 2022 memoir by Mike Rinder. He was raised as a Scientologist, spent 50 years in the group, and is a former executive director of the Office of Special Affairs.
Rinder's parents became Scientologists when he was 5 years old. He grew up in Australia, which restricted the group's activities at the time. The family took trips to England so his parents could become Operating Thetans. Rinder joined the Sea Org in 1973 instead of going to university. He served upon the Apollo. Later, he is assigned to be a Watch Messenger for L. Ron Hubbard. When the church begins its operations in Clearwater, Florida, Rinder relocates there. One night, several members of the Sea Org pair up and have sex, which is a prohibited activity outside of marriage. Most members who participated in the orgy are punished by being sent to the Rehabilitation Project Force, but Rinder is granted leniency when he decides to marry the woman he was involved with. They have three children together. Their second daughter died of SIDS shortly after she was born, with their other two children being raised in the Sea Org nursery. When Mary Sue Hubbard was the subject of litigation against Scientology, Rinder was one of four messengers sent to seize control of the Guardian's Office.
After Hubbard's death, Rinder is tasked with many important roles by David Miscavige. Some of his roles include dealing with the Lisa McPherson case, mitigating Bob Minton's influence, improving the posthumous public image of L. Ron Hubbard, and directing the construction of the Psychiatry: An Industry of Death exhibit. Rinder also testifies as a witness in litigation involving Scientology. He struggles to meet Miscavige's expectations and is called a suppressive person, despite his high ranking in the organization. Other executives also endure harsh treatment during this time, being deprived of sleep and tasked with physical labour at unexpected intervals, as Miscavige thinks they are all trying to destroy Scientology. Rinder eventually loses his hope that the situation will improve, and leaves. He ends up living with a group of former Scientologists. Rinder then conducts interviews for outside media and becomes a prioritized fair game target, being followed by multiple private investigators and surveillance cameras. He then worked with Leah Remini on Scientology and the Aftermath.
A review in The Guardian compared the beginning of the memoir to an adventure story and describes the dedication in which Rinder worked for the group. While he was often tasked with important roles such as arranging private tours for celebrity Scientologists, he also endured various forms of mistreatment. [1] KCRW described the book as exposing the "secret inner workings, as well as the dark, dystopian truth about the powerful organization to which he had devoted his life to". [2] A writer for Jezebel stated that it was an exposé of how the Church of Scientology conducts its harassment campaigns. [3] The memoir also describes Rinder's personal experience leaving the group and facing disconnection from his family. [4]
Since its inception in 1954, the Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of controversies, including its stance on psychiatry, Scientology's legitimacy as a religion, the Church's aggressive attitude in dealing with its perceived enemies and critics, allegations of mistreatment of members, and predatory financial practices; for example, the high cost of religious training:191 and perceived exploitative practices. When mainstream media outlets have reported alleged abuses, representatives of the church have tended to deny such allegations.
Mary Sue Hubbard was the third wife of L. Ron Hubbard, from 1952 until his death in 1986. She was a leading figure in Scientology for much of her life. The Hubbards had four children: Diana, Quentin (1954–1976), Suzette, and Arthur.
David Miscavige is an American Scientologist who is serving as the second and current leader of the Church of Scientology. His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center. RTC is a corporation that controls the trademarks and copyrights of Dianetics and Scientology. He is also referred to within the Scientology organization as "DM", "COB", and "Captain of the Sea Org".
The term fair game is used to describe policies and practices carried out by the Church of Scientology towards people and groups it perceives as its enemies. Founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard established the policy in the 1950s in response to criticism both from within and outside his organization. Individuals or groups who are "fair game" are judged to be a threat to the Church and, according to the policy, can be punished and harassed using any and all means possible. In 1968, Hubbard officially canceled use of the term "fair game" because of negative public relations it caused, although the Church's aggressive response to criticism continued.
The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The movement has been the subject of a number of controversies, and the Church of Scientology has been described by government inquiries, international parliamentary bodies, scholars and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business.
Mark C. "Marty" Rathbun is a former senior executive of the Church of Scientology who last held the post of Inspector General of the Religious Technology Center (RTC), the organization that is responsible for the protection and enforcement of all Dianetics and Scientology copyrights and trademarks. As the inspector general, Rathbun led the RTC's international Inspector General Network, collectively responsible for internal maintenance and consistency of Scientology's practices and procedures in its organizations, and for ensuring perfect adherence to all Church policies as attributed to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Rathbun left the Church of Scientology in 2004 and became an independent Scientologist, later stating that he considers himself non-religious. Since 2016, Rathbun began criticizing former church members on his blog. He has also spoken out against prominent critics of Scientology, prompting speculation that he may have returned to the Church.
Scientology ethics and justice are a collection of policies and procedures by L. Ron Hubbard and used by the Church of Scientology. Scientology defines ethics as "the actions an individual takes on himself", and justice as "the action taken on the individual by the group when he fails to take these actions himself". The body of writings include techniques and policies of moral choices, and the rules of conduct to be followed by scientologists.
When the individual fails to put in his own ethics, the group takes action against him and this is called justice.
The Commodore's Messenger Organization (CMO) is a management unit within the Sea Org, the unincorporated paramilitary wing of the Church of Scientology. CMO oversees the various other Church of Scientology organizations.
Michael John Rinder is an Australian-American former senior executive of the Church of Scientology International (CSI) and the Sea Organization based in the United States. From 1982 to 2007, Rinder served on the board of directors of CSI and also held the post of executive director of its Office of Special Affairs, overseeing the corporate, legal and public relations matters of Scientology at the international level.
The Church of Scientology has recruited celebrities for their endorsement of Scientology as a public relations strategy. The organization has had a written program governing celebrity recruitment since at least 1955, when L. Ron Hubbard created "Project Celebrity", offering rewards to Scientologists who recruited targeted celebrities. Early interested parties included former silent-screen star Gloria Swanson and jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. The Scientology organization has a particular interest in international focus on wealthy businesspeople and influencers to help promote its ideals. A Scientology policy letter of 1976 states that "rehabilitation of celebrities who are just beyond or just approaching their prime" enables the "rapid dissemination" of Scientology.
This is a Timeline of Scientology and its forerunner Dianetics, particularly its foundation and development by author L. Ron Hubbard as well as general publications, articles, books and other milestones.
OT VIII or OT 8 is the highest current auditing level in Scientology. OT VIII is known as "Truth Revealed" and was first released to select high-ranking public Scientologists in 1988, two years after the death of Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. OT VIII is only delivered to members of the Church of Scientology in one place—aboard the organization's private cruise ship, the Freewinds. There are a few advanced auditors that are able to deliver the level to those who meet the prerequisites.
Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology is a 2009 memoir written by former Scientologist Marc Headley about his 15 years working for the Church of Scientology, starting at age 16. The book vividly describes his scary escape from a California compound in 2005, followed by his wife's escape, the prison-like security of the compound which housed the organization's international management, and the physical and mental abuse of the staff members within.
The Church of Scientology network operates as a multinational conglomerate of companies with personnel, executives, organizational charts, chains of command, policies and orders.
Religious Technology Center is the most powerful executive organization within the Scientology empire, and its current chairman, David Miscavige, is widely recognized as the effective head of the church.
Pat Broeker is a former high-ranking member of the Church of Scientology who, along with his wife Annie Broeker, was one of the few people in direct contact with L. Ron Hubbard in his final years. He and his wife, and driver Steve "Sarge" Pfauth, left with Hubbard from his home in Hemet, California in 1980 and travelled around California in a motorhome until buying and settling at a ranch in San Luis Obispo County in 1983. The Broekers and Pfauth stayed with Hubbard until his death in January 1986. Due to ongoing investigations by the FBI and IRS following the arrests of high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard over Operation Snow White, the location of the ranch was kept secret and visits from Church management were forbidden while Hubbard was alive.
"The Hole" is the name of a detention building—also known as the SP Hall, the SP Hole, the A to E Room, or the CMO Int trailers—operated by the Church of Scientology on Gold Base, a private compound near the town of Hemet in Riverside County, California. Dozens of its senior executives have been confined within the building for months or years. It consists of a set of double-wide trailers within a Scientology compound, joined together to form a suite of offices which were formerly used by the Church's international management team. According to former members of Scientology and media reports, from 2004, the Church's leader David Miscavige sent dozens of senior Scientology executives to the Hole. The Tampa Bay Times described it in a January 2013 article as:
a place of confinement and humiliation where Scientology's management culture—always demanding—grew extreme. Inside, a who's who of Scientology leadership went at each other with brutal tongue lashings, and even hands and fists. They intimidated each other into crawling on their knees and standing in trash cans and confessing to things they hadn't done. They lived in degrading conditions, eating and sleeping in cramped spaces designed for office use.
Michele Diane Miscavige is an American Scientologist. She is a member of the Church of Scientology's Sea Org who married Scientology leader David Miscavige in 1982. Miscavige worked as her husband's assistant and was involved in managing the Church of Scientology's relationship with high-profile member Tom Cruise.
Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me is a book by Ron Miscavige and Dan Koon published in 2016 in the United States and United Kingdom. It presents the personal account of Ron Miscavige's almost five decades in the Church of Scientology, the rise of his son David Miscavige to the church's top leadership role, his decision to leave the church, his escape in 2012, and the aftermath.
The tax status of the Church of Scientology in the United States has been the subject of decades of controversy and litigation. Although the Church of Scientology was initially partially exempted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from paying federal income tax, its two principal entities in the United States lost this exemption in 1957 and 1968. This action was taken because of concerns that church funds were being used for the private gain of its founder L. Ron Hubbard or due to an international psychiatric conspiracy against Scientology.
This is a bibliography of works critical of Scientology and the Church of Scientology.