It’s the religion which has gained a significant level of notoriety, particularly due to the numerous controversies which surround its practices and its key personalities. The Church of Scientology is difficult to contend with – it was able to face up to media giant BBC in the wake of an interview controversy, and banned an alleged parody film of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard (“The Profit”) from showing within the United States. But first things first, the church hasn’t claimed affiliation with any religion at the outset, although its founder contended that it was in agreement with most religions. It’s a staunch critic of modern psychiatry though.
The religion intends to provide its members tools to help themselves achieve personal growth, as its advocates maintain. The brainchild of sci-fi writer L. Ron Hubbard, the Church of Scientology is the direct result of his 1950 book entitled “Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health” – the religion claims that it possess the methods which help humans achieve spiritual introspection in the vantage point of all its previous lives, resulting in an enhanced fulfillment and efficiency in the present one. The international organization has forty-six independent U.S. churches and an alleged worldwide membership of ten million, and has recruited key personalities like John Travolta and Tom Cruise, the latter serving as its main spokesperson.
In spite of its established status, or maybe due to it, the organization has been plagued with controversies since it first started entering the mainstream. On of the more sensational ones were the sessions where initiates were ‘purged’ of their ‘aberrations’, through ‘auditing’ sessions which allegedly obtained sensitive and disparaging information from people under the guise ‘clearing’ their esoteric path. The Church maintains that less than half of all its offerings are absolutely fee, although those at the higher ranks receive commissions for new recruits. Many contend that it’s a transnational corporate institution which poses as a religion in order to enjoy tax exemptions, and there are even allegations that the church mercilessly suppresses opposition and maintains a manipulative control of its members, stating as a point of fact the run-ins with the law of high profile members.
Only recently an organization calling itself as Anonymous has waged an online war with the church. A video clip of actor Tom Cruise was posted on YouTube for several months, speaking out on his faith, when the Church requested that site the take the clip down; YouTube eventually obliged. This sparked protest and dissent among many anti-Scientology organizations, particularly Anonymous, which has decided to expel the Church of Scientology from the internet and ultimately dismantle it. The initiative (dubbed as “Project Chanology”) started last February 10, and the Church’s main website has experienced technical problems since then. Anonymous has also gone so far as to hold protest rallies against the church, with May 10 in London being the most recent. A 15-year-old who referred to the church as a ‘cult’ in a placard was arrested but the charges were later dropped. In response to the threat, Tom Cruise spoke out that the Church is taking legal measures to bring down hate-crime organizations which intend to bring the organization down. The Church of Scientology is wrought with controversy, and many more are sure to follow as things heat up.
