Lawrence Wright’s lengthy New Yorker article about Scientology and former church member Paul Haggis has renewed interest in the secretive institution.
In “The Apostate,” Wright describes a number of devastating allegations, including cases of abuse, forced labor and confinement of church members, and — of course — strange stories involving Tom Cruise. The article goes on to say that the FBI has investigated the church and that “the case remains open.”
AOL News reported Monday that a federal law enforcement official said the Scientology investigation had “fallen short” and that no criminal charges are expected.
Whether or not further legal action is pursued against the church, Surge Desk decided to explore opinion on whether Scientology, and its most famous follower, deserved all the current scrutiny.
Esquire editor Mark Warren argues that larger religious institutions should be the focus of our critical attention:
Why all the fuss over Scientology, when your resources and time might better be directed at the finances, earthly corruption and raw power of, say, the Catholic Church, an institution that wields influence incalculably greater than Hubbard’s itty-bitty religion?
For all of the well-documented creepiness and horrible secrecy and paranoia and the forced detention and re-education of wayward members and the cult-like imperative to deny even the most obvious truths about the religion, Scientology, compared to the “great” religions, statistically doesn’t even exist.
Catholic Online, which has covered allegations of Scientology abuse in the past, believes action against the church is overdue:
The New Yorker magazine has joined a long list of media outlets and organizations who have spoken out concerning abuse within the Church of Scientology. Books have been written by numerous former members who have been discounted and condemned in comments by the group’s leadership. …
Given the weight of testimony from so many of former members, the reports that have been filed in so many nations, and the evidence of abuse that keeps mounting, perhaps “The Apostate” is the tipping point for action by the United States and other governments.
Former Scientologist Marty Rathbun sees “huge repercussions” as more light is shed on Scientology:
Whether I agree with some of his views and conclusions or not, I am fairly certain about two things concerning Larry Wright and his work. One, he is honestly attempting to understand the phenomena that is Scientology from the outside. Two, he has opened a public debate on Scientology in such a thorough, balanced, newsworthy fashion it will have huge and continuing repercussions. …
At the end of the day, Mr. Wright and The New Yorker deserve props for making it out the other end of the Miscavige meat grinder with one of the more informed, accurate pieces of journalism on the subject to date. The headline and revelation about Wright’s work… is worth all of the blood and guts spilled.
There have been previous calls for action against Scientology, as in this 2009 op-ed from The St. Petersburg Times, whose own investigation into the church’s Sea Org operations was cited by Wright:
As former staffers lift the veil of secrecy that for years has obscured the inner workings of the Church of Scientology, a new mystery emerges: Why are government authorities looking the other way? The Internal Revenue Service has ample reason to reconsider its decision to grant Scientology tax-exempt status as a religion. Labor officials should determine whether wage and working condition violations have occurred, and law enforcement ought to investigate whether the church’s restraint on members’ free movement crossed a legal line.
The Church of Scientology trumpets its global reach and expansions in communities large and small across America. Its presence can be disruptive, as Clearwater has learned since the church secretly moved in and established its spiritual headquarters in the city more than 25 years ago. Government cannot afford to be complacent, and those politicians and community leaders who have normalized relations with Scientology can no longer claim ignorance about the nature of the church and the treatment of its workers.
The church, of course, has stated that it has done nothing wrong, but as much as we dug, we couldn’t come up with anyone outside of the organization who advocated on its behalf.
(From AOL – click here for the full page)
