Volunteer Ministers

Last updated

A logo used by the Volunteer Ministers program Volunteer Ministers.jpg
A logo used by the Volunteer Ministers program
Scientology volunteer minister tent in Sweden, October 2008 Gulttalt1.jpg
Scientology volunteer minister tent in Sweden, October 2008

A Volunteer Minister (VM) is a member of Scientology sent to a disaster zone to spread the doctrine of Scientology and provide disaster relief. [1] [2] [3] The program was created in the 1970s by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. As of 2016, the volunteer ministers has a network of over 9,000 trained ministers. [4] [ non-primary source needed ]

Contents

The Church of Scientology says that the program constitutes "the only effective steps to arrest and reverse the deterioration of [the] world", [3] but critics argue that Scientology uses the program to gain positive media attention and recruit new members (known within Scientology as "raw meat"). [5] [6] [7]

There has been controversy over the group's goals and activities, [6] [7] although one local official in India welcomed their assistance. [8]

Objectives

According to Hubbard, the objective of the program is to "put basic Dianetics and Scientology technology into view and into use at the raw public level." [9] In Hubbard's words, The Volunteer Minister's Handbook "will be broadly distributed on Scn and non-Scientology lines, bought by the man on the street. He'll use some of the data, produce some miracles, save a marriage or two, rescue some kid from drugs, help his next door neighbor who's upset because her child's failing in school and couldn't care less, plus brighten up her yawning of Spring and teach him to study, and handle Aunt Martha's dizziness with assists." [9]

Each Volunteer Minister pays to attend a two-week course and purchase Scientology materials; in 1994, these materials cost $435. [10] The book is called The Scientology Handbook and is 968 pages long. [10]

Scientology spokesman Eric Roux writes: “A Scientology volunteer minister is trained to bring spiritual assistance to anyone in any aspect of life, whether it is to increase his communication ability, his study skills, help raising children or save marriages, as well as dozens of other domains of intervention.” [11] [4] [ non-primary source needed ]

Origins

He should represent himself to the person or the person's family as a minister whose compassion was compelled by the newspaper story concerning the person

—  L. Ron Hubbard, [1]

The program is the successor to earlier Scientology outreach efforts, notably the "Casualty Contact" program for recruiting new Scientologists (called "preclears") from hospitals, the scenes of accidents and other places where people might have experienced trauma. As Hubbard put it, "One takes every daily paper he can get his hands on and cuts from it every story whereby he might have a preclear. [...] He should represent himself to the person or the person's family as a minister whose compassion was compelled by the newspaper story concerning the person. [...]." [1]

Hubbard advised that "using his minister's card, an auditor need only barge into any non-sectarian hospital, get permission to visit the wards from the superintendent, mentioning nothing about processing but only about taking care of people's souls." [2] The primary objective was simply to recruit more members for Scientology: "Some small percentage of the persons visited or their families will turn up in his group. Thus he will build a group and naturally from that group he will get a great many individual preclears." [1] This was, however, not how the program was to be presented to the general public: "A great many miracles will follow in his wake and he is later to become a subject of the press himself. However, in handling the press we should simply say that it is a mission of the Church to assist those who are in need of assistance." [2]

The Volunteer Ministers program is also intended to operate as a recruitment activity. As Hubbard puts it,

As the benefits of the Volunteer Minister program begin to spread throughout the society, a rank and file of people that have been helped will begin to accumulate. These people will begin to feed into missions and Churches of Scientology from wherever the Volunteer Minister has been at work. [3]

Activities

Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Haiti 2010 Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Haiti 2010.jpg
Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Haiti 2010
Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Haiti 2010 Scientology Volunteer Ministers doing medical work in Haiti 2010.jpg
Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Haiti 2010
Scientology Volunteer Minister Ship Hornbeam arriving in Haiti Scientology Volunteer Minister Ship Hornbeam arriving in Haiti.jpg
Scientology Volunteer Minister Ship Hornbeam arriving in Haiti

Volunteer Ministers have been sent to the scenes of major disasters, where they have distributed Scientology pamphlets and purport to heal or relieve pain using Scientology techniques such as "Locationals," "Nerve assists" and "Touch assists." [8]

VMs were sent to Southeast Asia after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, [12] and to England after the 7 July 2005 London bombings.[ citation needed ] Eight hundred were sent following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. [13]

In 2012, news broke that Volunteer Ministers were providing purification rundowns in Vietnam to people who had been exposed to Agent Orange. Doctors and researchers criticized the treatments as unscientific and unproven, and warned that the high doses of niacin administered could be harmful. Dr. Marcella L. Warner, who studies the long-term health effects of dioxin exposure, said that "a treatment focused on exercise and sweating would not be an effective way to rid the body of the toxin". [14] [15]

The Volunteer Ministers have also worked in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Pakistan flood in 2010, the Fukushima earthquake in 2011, and the May 2014 floods in Bosnia. [4] [ non-primary source needed ]

Controversy

As with many of the Church of Scientology's programs, the Volunteer Ministers have generated controversy and criticism. The organization provides "spiritual relief" parallel with medical treatment, but also does simple tasks such as helping cleanup or fetch food and generally assist the disaster effort as seems indicated.[ citation needed ] They have been accused of attempting to take advantage of disasters in order to promote Scientology to a grief-stricken populace. [16] The Church of Scientology insists that assists are given parallel to medical treatment, not in place of it; the Handbook for Scientology Assists stresses in its basic guidelines: "Always seek first aid and medical attention when needed. An assist is not a substitute for medical attention or treatment by a qualified doctor. First, call the doctor. Then assist the person as you can." [17]

The Volunteer Minister program most heavily promoted by Scientology took place in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Critics of Scientology accused the organization of attempting to take advantage of the disaster in order to promote Scientology to the grief-stricken populace in the area. The National Mental Health Association issued a public warning in response to the conduct of Scientologists in the immediate aftermath of September 11, claiming that Scientologists were "Intentionally confusing [the] public" by presenting themselves as mental health service providers. According to NMHA President Michael M. Faenza, "The public needs to understand that the Scientologists are using this tragedy to recruit new members. They are not providing mental health assistance." [7]

In Russia, after the Beslan school hostage crisis tragedy in 2004, the Health Ministry ordered Scientologists out of the area, saying "that various psychological tactics the groups use, including what it called hypnosis, may be harmful not only for adults, but for children that have already suffered severe mental shock." [18] [19]

In the United Kingdom, Volunteer Ministers played a similar role in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, targeting the families of victims and emergency workers. As in the United States in 2001, this resulted in controversy, and it was reported that Volunteer Ministers had been removed from the vicinity of survivors of the bus bombing in Tavistock Square. [20] It later emerged that the Metropolitan Police had agreed to give the Church of Scientology privileged access to the Police Message Broadcasting System, enabling the Church to dispatch Volunteer Minister rapid-response teams in the event of future emergencies in the capital. [21]

Paul Fletcher, director of the London branch of CCHR and Stefania Cisco, a Director of Special Affairs for Scientology, admitted to an undercover BBC reporter that the purpose of the volunteer ministers was to keep the psychiatrists away, and called this "spiritual security". [6] [22]

After the Virginia Tech massacre, April 16, 2007, 20 Volunteer Ministers were on the campus. [23] Bulletins to Scientology members said that help had been requested by the university provost, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross, but these organizations denied that any requests had been made. The activities of the Volunteer Ministers at Virginia Tech was reported to have received strong criticism from local pastors. [24] [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dianetics</span> Set of ideas and practices adopted by Scientologists

Dianetics is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer and Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Dianetics is practiced by followers of Scientology and the Nation of Islam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narconon</span> Scientology organization

Narconon International is a Scientology organization which promotes the theories of founder L. Ron Hubbard regarding substance abuse treatment and addiction. Its parent company is the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), which is owned and controlled by the Church of Scientology. Headquartered in Hollywood, California, United States, Narconon operates several dozen residential centers worldwide, chiefly in the U.S. and western Europe. The organization was formed in 1966 by Scientologist William Benitez with Hubbard's help, and was incorporated in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology beliefs and practices</span> Scientology beliefs and practices

The Church of Scientology maintains a wide variety of beliefs and practices. The core belief holds that a human is an immortal, spiritual being (thetan) that is resident in a physical body. The thetan has had innumerable past lives, some of which, preceding the thetan's arrival on Earth, were lived in extraterrestrial cultures. Based on case studies at advanced levels, it is predicted that any Scientologist undergoing auditing will eventually come across and recount a common series of past-life events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology controversies</span>

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 Purification Rundown, also known as the Purif or the Hubbard Method, is a pseudoscientific procedure that advocates of Scientology claim is a detoxification program. There is no evidence for its efficacy in detoxification, and significant evidence from clinicians that it is dangerous. It involves heat exposure for up to 5 hours a day and can exceed 4 weeks in length. It can potentially cause heatstroke damage, which includes brain injury, heart problems, organ failure, and death. It was developed by Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard and used by the Church of Scientology as an introductory service. Numerous individuals have been hospitalised as a result of taking part in the process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E-meter</span> Device that measures electrical charges on skin

The E-meter, originally the electropsychometer, is an electronic device for displaying the electrodermal activity (EDA) of a human being. It is used for auditing in Scientology and divergent groups. The efficacy and legitimacy of Scientology's use of the E-meter has been subject to extensive litigation and in accordance with a federal court order, the Church of Scientology publishes disclaimers declaring that the E-meter "by itself does nothing", is incapable of improving health, and is used specifically for spiritual purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auditing (Scientology)</span> Methodology of Scientologists

In Dianetics and Scientology, auditing is a sequence of actions whereby the "auditor" takes an individual through times in their current or past lives with the purpose of ridding the individual of negative influences from past events or behaviors. According to practitioners, auditing is meant to bring the individual to "Clear" status; thus, an individual being audited is known as a "preclear" or PC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology and sexual orientation</span> LGBTQ issues in Scientology

Scientology and its perspectives on sexual orientation are based on the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. His statements about homosexuality have led critics to assert that Scientology promotes homophobia, though these allegations are disputed by some Scientologists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford Capacity Analysis</span> Test administered by the Church of Scientology

The Oxford Capacity Analysis (OCA), also known as the American Personality Analysis, is a list of questions which is advertised as being a personality test and that is administered for free by the Church of Scientology as part of its recruitment process. The organization offers the test online, at its local sites, and sometimes at local fairs, carnivals, and in other public settings. It has no relation to the University of Oxford, although the name may have been chosen to imply a link.

In Dianetics and Scientology, Clear is a status afforded to followers by the Scientology organization, or by other Scientologists, after they complete certain activities. It is one of the major ostensible "states" practitioners strive to reach on their way up what the Scientologists call the Bridge to Total Freedom. Scientology followers are given the status of Clear when a person is deemed to be free of the influence of engrams – supposed unwanted emotions or painful traumas which Scientology claims are not readily available to the conscious mind. Scientologists believe that human beings accumulate anxieties, psychosomatic illnesses, and aberration due to receiving engrams throughout their current or past lives, and that by applying Dianetics, every single person can obtain the status of Clear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Scientology</span> American religious group and business

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, law lords, and numerous superior court judgements as both a dangerous cult and a manipulative profit-making business. In 1979, several executives of the organization were convicted and imprisoned for multiple offenses by a U.S. Federal Court. The Church of Scientology itself was convicted of fraud by a French court in 2009, a decision upheld by the supreme Court of Cassation in 2013. The German government classifies Scientology as an unconstitutional sect. In France, it has been classified as a dangerous cult. In some countries, it has attained legal recognition as a religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology and psychiatry</span>

Since the founding of the Church of Scientology in 1954 by L. Ron Hubbard, the relationship between Scientology and psychiatry has been dominated by strong opposition by the organization against the medical specialty of psychiatry and of psychology with themes relating to this opposition occurring repeatedly throughout Scientology literature and doctrine. According to the Church of Scientology, psychiatry has a long history of improper and abusive care. The group's views have been disputed, criticized, and condemned by experts in the medical and scientific community and have been a source of public controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology ethics and justice</span> Policies and techniques

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 Church of Scientology publicly classifies itself as a religion, but scholars and other observers regard it as a business, because the organization operates more like a for-profit business than a religious institution. Some scholars of sociology working in religious studies consider it a new religious movement. Overall, as stated by Stephen A. Kent, Scientology can be seen as a "multi-faceted transnational corporation that has religion as only one of its many components. Other components include political aspirations, business ventures, cultural productions, pseudo-medical practices, pseudo-psychiatric claims, and, an alternative family structure."

A Touch Assist is a Scientology procedure purported to heal illness or injury. It is one of many such Assists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act</span> Public Law Act aimed to improve Mental health care

The Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act of 1956 was an Act of Congress passed to improve mental health care in the United States territory of Alaska. It became the focus of a major political controversy after opponents nicknamed it the "Siberia Bill" and denounced it as being part of a communist plot to hospitalize and brainwash Americans. Campaigners asserted that it was part of an international Jewish, Roman Catholic or psychiatric conspiracy intended to establish United Nations-run concentration camps in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology</span> Set of beliefs and practices and an associated movement

Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. Hubbard initially developed a set of ideas that he called Dianetics, which he represented as a form of therapy. An organization that he established in 1950 to promote it went bankrupt, and Hubbard lost the rights to his book Dianetics in 1952. He then recharacterized his ideas as a religion, likely for tax purposes, and renamed them Scientology. By 1954 he had regained the rights to Dianetics and founded the Church of Scientology, which remains the largest organization promoting Scientology. There are practitioners independent of the Church, in what is called the Free Zone. Estimates put the number of Scientologists at under 40,000 worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizens Commission on Human Rights</span> Scientology-related organization

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is a nonprofit organization established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its stated mission is to "eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections." Many critics regard it as a Scientology front group whose purpose is to push the organization's anti-psychiatric agenda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology in the United States</span>

Scientology was founded in the United States by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is now practiced in many other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology front groups</span> Orgs pretending to be not-Scientology

Scientology front groups are those groups named or operated in such a way as to disguise their association with the Church of Scientology (COS). COS uses front groups to promote its interests in politics, to make itself appear legitimate, and to recruit. Many of the groups are founded on pseudoscience, named disingenuously, and underplay their links to Scientology.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hubbard, "Three methods of dissemination," Professional Auditor's Bulletin 73, 28 February 1956.
  2. 1 2 3 Hubbard, "Dissemination Tips," HCO Bulletin 15 September 1959
  3. 1 2 3 Hubbard, "Volunteer Ministers," HCO Policy Letter 22 February 1991
  4. 1 2 3 Roux, Eric (July 21, 2016). "Scientology". In Gallagher, Eugene V. (ed.). Cult Wars in Historical Perspective: New and Minority Religions. Routledge. ISBN   978-1472458124.
  5. ↑ Richard Behar (May 6, 1991). "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power". TIME Magazine.
  6. 1 2 3 "Reporter Elodie Harper goes undercover to reveal the tactics used by Scientology followers in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events" (Real Audio (45 min)). Five Live Report . BBC Radio. July 2, 2006. Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 "Beware Scientologists Claiming To Be Mental Health Professionals," official statement, National Mental Health Association, September 17, 2001 Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. 1 2 Goodman, Peter S. (January 28, 2005). "For Tsunami Survivors, A Touch of Scientology". Washington Post . Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  9. 1 2 Hubbard, "The Volunteer Ministers Program," Flag Bureau Data Letter 424, 11 July 1974
  10. 1 2 Garcia, Wayne (May 29, 1994). "WANTED // WARM HEARTS, COLD CASH". St. Petersburg Times. Scientologists who enroll as volunteer ministers buy a $100 handbook and take a $335 course on how to use the book
  11. ↑ "French court convicts Church of Scientology of fraud". CNN. October 27, 2009. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  12. ↑ Iorg, Lindsey (February 26, 2005). "Salt Lake volunteer brought healing to Indonesians". Deseret News . Archived from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2005.
  13. ↑ "Scientology missions spring up in hurricane-damaged areas". Associated Press. May 15, 2006. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007 – via KATC.
  14. ↑ Fuller, Thomas (September 5, 2012). "Agent Orange victims get Scientology treatment". New York Times . Archived from the original on September 13, 2012.
  15. ↑ Fuller, Thomas (September 5, 2012). "Scientology methods used to treat Agent Orange victims". International Herald Tribune .
  16. ↑ Perera, Janaka (June 10, 2005). "Scientology: Cult of greed in divine garb". Asian Tribune . Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
  17. ↑ L. Ron Hubbard "Assists Processing Handbook" page 8
  18. ↑ "Health Ministry Asks Police to Shut Down Church of Scientology in Beslan". MosNews. October 12, 2004. Archived from the original on October 16, 2004. Retrieved October 21, 2006.
  19. ↑ "Scientologists Sent Packing from Beslan — Police". MosNews. October 22, 2004. Archived from the original on October 31, 2004. Retrieved October 21, 2006.
  20. ↑ Moyes, Stephen (July 12, 2005). "7/7 War on Britain: Sick Comfort". Daily Mirror . London. p. 10. At the bus-bomb scene, 12 Scientologists in yellow T- shirts carrying the words Volunteer Minister were ushered away from survivors.
  21. ↑ "Met allows Cruise's sect access to data on security alerts". Evening Standard. March 20, 2007. Archived from the original on April 7, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Transcript of BBC Radio report on Volunteer Ministers, 2 July 2006". Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  23. ↑ George Rush; Joanna Rush Molloy (April 17, 2007). "Critics: Scientologists' Va. trip a time to prey". NY Daily News. Archived from the original on May 26, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
  24. ↑ Cook, John (April 24, 2007). "Slinging Scientology, Mud on VT Campus". Fresh Intelligence. Radar Online. Archived from the original on May 1, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
  25. ↑ Podger, Pamela J. (April 26, 2007). "Scientologists visiting Va. Tech to help". The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.