Cult of Personality Disorders

Dealing with the holidays has left me a little behind on my reading, but today I finished Inside Scientology by Janet Reitman. Wow.

Reitman does a fantastic job of detailing the history of the “religion” (please make exaggerated finger quotes there) and of L. Ron Hubbard, as well as delving into policies and practices. I found the personal stories of those who had been abused by Scientology the most poignant; I got choked up over the tale of one couple who, after years of separation, were able to escape together, and the abuse and death of Lisa McPherson was heartbreaking to read.

I’m not entirely sure where to start here, because my mind is so boggled that anyone would fall for this bullshit, but I’ll try. L. Ron Hubbard was a pretty damn good snake oil salesman, and quite capable of reading the social atmosphere of the times and giving the people what they wanted. I have to give him credit for that: he knew how to market. But the guy was a science fiction writer, for pete’s sake! (I actually read one of his scifi books years ago, and thought it wasn’t too bad.) I found myself shaking my head at the stories about the evil Xenu, body thetans, the Galactic Confederation, and other such assorted gobbledygood. And people actually believe this stuff?! It it weren’t so pathetic, it would be funny.

Then there is the bizarre military branch of Scientology, the Sea Org, in which people sign a billion year contract--yes, that’s billion with a B--because their thetans will eventually inhabit many other physical bodies. The people in the Sea Org have to undergo intense training, and can’t marry any non-Sea Org member, but I guess it’s worth it because they get special perks like wearing super cool uniforms.

I was also struck by the constant use of Capitalized Organizations which could be abbreviated as convenient acronyms (Potential Trouble Source, Operating Thetans, Golden Age of Tech, Introspection Rundown, False Purpose Rundown, Religious Technology Center, Rehabilitation Project Force, Estates Project Force, Pacific Area Command Base, Planetary Dissemination Meter...make your own acronyms, kids!), always a sure sign of an entity seeking to make itself sound more official and serious. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that both the government and the military use acronyms a lot. (Speaking of military acronyms, It seems to me that Scientology is both SNAFU and FUBAR.)

After Hubbard died, Scientology was taken over by David Miscavige, who comes across as dictator-like in his need for power and influence. He’s the one who really embraced Hubbard’s idea of going after celebrities, so that they could be used as emissaries for the “religion.” He also followed in Hubbard’s footsteps by really raking in the dough from all these poor, lost saps who buy into this idiocy and fork over money in order to cross the Bridge to Total Freedom. ::eye roll::

Did I take away any positive messages that Scientology might offer? Not really, although I think being self-confident is a good thing; it’s no secret that those who possess and project confidence are more persuasive and likely to get others to go along with them. But do people really need to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to an organization like Scientology in order to figure that out? If so, pay me. I’ll tell you all about it.

While reading this book, I was reminded of my ex-husband, who, at a later age, became enamored with the pentecostal religion (some might say that he “found Jesus”). I’m someone who was raised in a church, but as I got older and read more and experienced more things and people with different backgrounds, I moved away from organized religion. I often wondered what was missing in my ex’s life that he felt the need for something like that. In some of the followers I read about in this book, I recognized his level of fanaticism; some might make the argument that all religions prey upon people, but I’m not here to do that. I’m writing only about this book and this particular “religion.” But I really couldn’t help but be reminded of what I experienced years ago.

Many people say that Scientology is a cult. I would have to agree with that assessment. You don’t place people into isolation, punish them, and isolate them from their friends and family unless you’re a cult (click picture at left to embiggen, to see some of the punishments). You don’t force women to have abortions unless you’re a cult, and you don’t withhold medical treatment from mentally ill individuals unless you’re a cult. Unfortunately, the government has recognized them as a religion, so they get all kinds of tax breaks and deductions. Yet another reason why I think that tax exemptions for all churches should be eliminated, but that’s an entry for another day.

You know, I honestly feel sorry (well, mingled with a little bit of exasperation and incredulity) for the people who fall for this. There is obviously something missing in their lives, and I would hope that they could find it through other means. If it were just harmless ideas, I don’t know that it would be cause for concern. But people sink thousands of dollars into this crap, and some are severely psychologically damaged. It does harm to people, and anyone who falls prey to this is obviously weak-minded and in need of the initial sense of community that Scientology gives them. It’s a shame that they’re so blind as to what they’re really all about (hint: $$$). What a great gig for the higher-ups in the organization, but not so great for the drones working 20-hour days and getting paid $50 a week.

A very good read, but also very disturbing.