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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.
The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) is a fundraising and membership organization run by the Church of Scientology. Headquartered in England at Saint Hill Manor, the IAS operates several affiliated but similarly-named organizations. There are IAS offices in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and three in the United States. The periodical magazine Impact is the official IAS publication.
Leah Marie Remini is an American actress. She starred as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens (1998–2007) and as Vanessa Celluci in the CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait (2017–2018), both alongside Kevin James.
David Miscavige is 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), a corporation that controls the trademarks and copyrights of Dianetics and Scientology. He is also referred to within the Scientology organization as "DM", "C.O.B." or "Captain of the Sea Org".
"The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power" is an article, written in 1991 by U.S. investigative journalist Richard Behar, which is highly critical of Scientology. It was first published by Time magazine on May 6, 1991, as an eight-page cover story, and was later published in Reader's Digest in October 1991. Behar had previously published an article on Scientology in Forbes magazine. He stated that he was investigated by attorneys and private investigators affiliated with the Church of Scientology while researching the Time article, and that investigators contacted his friends and family as well. Behar's article covers topics including L. Ron Hubbard and the development of Scientology, its controversies over the years and history of litigation, conflict with psychiatry and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the suicide of Noah Lottick, its status as a religion, and its business dealings.
Scientology has been referenced in popular culture in many different forms of media including fiction, film, music, television and theatre. In the 1960s, author William S. Burroughs wrote about Scientology in both fictional short stories and non-fictional essays. The topic was dealt with more directly in his book, Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology. The 2000 film Battlefield Earth was an adaptation of a novel by L. Ron Hubbard.
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.
The Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) is a California 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, incorporated in 1982, which owns all the copyrights of the estate of L. Ron Hubbard and licenses their use. CST does business as L. Ron Hubbard Library. The Church of Spiritual Technology points to Hubbard as the “focal point,” with the structure designed to realize what Scientologists understand to be his vision. The stated purpose of the archive in CST, according to the church is “so that future generations will have available to them all of L. Ron Hubbard’s technology in its exact and original form, no matter what happens to the society.”
Heber Carl Jentzsch is an American Scientologist who served as the president of the Church of Scientology International from 1982 to around 2010. Jentzsch is listed as missing, and the Church of Scientology International will not disclose any other information regarding him.
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.
OT VIII or OT 8 is the highest current auditing level in Scientology. OT VIII is known as "The 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, and is additionally available from independent Scientology groups. There are a few advanced auditors that are able to deliver the level to those who meet the prerequisites.
The Bridge to Total Freedom, also known as the Classification, Gradation and Awareness Chart, is Scientology's primary action plan and road map to guide a person through the sequential steps to attain Scientology's concept of spiritual freedom. Displayed in every Scientology organization as an enormous poster using red ink, the comprehensive chart contains almost every service available within Scientology. All steps on the Bridge cost money.
Scientology and Me is a television documentary first broadcast on 14 May 2007 as part of the BBC's Panorama series. In it, reporter John Sweeney visited the United States to investigate whether the Church of Scientology was becoming more mainstream. The programme gained particular controversy before and during filming due to unresolved differences on content and approach between Sweeney's production team and Scientology members. Tommy Davis, the international spokesperson for Scientology, did not want the BBC to interview any detractors or perceived enemies of the church or include them in the documentary, and attempted to censor any references to Scientology as a "cult."
Kurt Weiland is a native of Austria and an executive in the Church of Scientology International. He is director of external affairs for the Church of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs, and Scientology's vice president of communications. He is a member of the organization's board of directors, and handles government, legal and public affairs for Scientology. He has often represented Scientology to the press as a media spokesman. Weiland works out of the Church of Scientology's offices in Los Angeles, California.
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.
"The Hole" is the name of a detention building—also known as 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 "Shelly" Miscavige is a member of the Church of Scientology's Sea Org who married Scientology leader David Miscavige. She was last seen in public in August 2007. Since her disappearance, she has been the subject of speculation and inquiries regarding her whereabouts and wellbeing.
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is a 2015 documentary film about Scientology. Directed by Alex Gibney and produced by HBO, it is based on Lawrence Wright's book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief (2013). The film premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. It received widespread praise from critics and was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning three, including Best Documentary. It also received a 2015 Peabody Award and won the award for Best Documentary Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America.
This is a bibliography of books critical of Scientology and the Church of Scientology, sorted by alphabetical order of titles.
References
- 1 2 "Scientology Singalong Video "We Stand Tall" Features David Miscavige (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ "'We Stand Tall': This Is The 1990 Video 'SNL' Just Eviscerated". The Inquisitr. 2015-04-06. Archived from the original on 2017-12-23. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
- ↑ "'SNL' skewered Scientology in this parody recruitment video". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
- ↑ ""We Stand Tall": This Is The 1990 Video "SNL" Just Eviscerated". Inquisitr. 5 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
- ↑ Lutz, Ashley (3 July 2012). "Scientology leader David Miscavige's wife has been missing since 2006". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 25 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.