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of a religion, and so a case can certainly be made for it in that respect. That's not a value
judgment on whether it’s good or bad.”

Both Palmer and Cowan point to the religious phenomenon’s popularity, its resilience
in the face of adversity, and its similarity to many other accepted faiths as indicators of
its legitimacy. “Scientology has to have merit, in the sense that hundreds of thousands
of people have practiced it and found it extremely helpful and rewarding,” Palmer says.
“Of course youll find some people who don’t approve of it or who dislike it, but does
that destroy its entire merit?”

While neither expert is much of a Scientology fan, each acknowledges the common
ground it shares with other accepted religious systems. But what of critics’ claims that
Scientology is a racket, a savvy financial scheme designed to extract cash from weak-
willed and brainwashed adherents?

“Everyone levels the racket charge when it comes to Scientology,” Cowan says. “It
seems like we want to criticise Scientology for something that is quintessentially
American: commodifying everything. I think it’s very interesting that a controversial
new religious movement is critiqued for something that is seen as a credit to American
society in any number of other ways. Regardless, I’ve talked to lots of Scientologists
who aren't out there scamming people for money,” he says.

One could easily make the case that organised religion has been commodifying, or
selling, itself for centuries. Why, then, has Scientology found itself under specific attack
for attributes shared not only by other religions, but by Western society itself?

“T think that in many ways, Scientology has opened itself to criticism. Every time you
use celebrities as spokespeople,” Cowan says, “you open yourself to ridicule. What does
Jenna Elfman have to say to me about spirituality? She recites lines like these for a liv-
ing!” But Scientology, nonetheless, has struck gold with its celebrity, high-profile con-
verts. “We are a celebrity-driven culture,” continues Cowan, “and Scientology has taken
advantage of that.”

Not all the experts, however, view Scientology in so positive a light. Dr. Stephen
Kent, a sociologist of religion at the University of Alberta, points to Scientology's
extreme secrecy, rigorous doctrinal study and attempts to control the lives of its mem-
bers as indicators that the faith is certainly not innocuous.

“There is much debate about what a cult is, and I try to avoid using that kind of ter-
minology,” Kent says. “But regardless of how you classify it, serious moral, ethical and
personal issues exist within Scientology. The lower-level functionaries don’t necessarily
know about the upper-level abuses.”

Kent cites L. Ron Hubbard’s own Scientology dictionary, Modern Management
Technology Defined, as evidence of Scientology's nebulous and sinister ways. In it, one
of the given definitions of ‘ethics’ is the following: “The purpose of ethics is to remove
counter-intentions from the environment. Having accomplished that, the purpose
becomes to remove other intentionedness from the environment.” One interpretation
of such Newspeak is that the purpose of Scientology is to eliminate all its opposition,
Kent proposes.

“Once youre in the Church,” Kent says, “no discussion, debate or criticism are per-
mitted. Higher-level adherents must advertise and advance L. Ron Hubbard’s teachings
in all aspects of their lives, or else they will be silenced.” What's more, Scientology is
extremely secretive and closeted about its sacred texts and upper religious levels, pun-
ishing and attacking those who release such “classified” information.

“There are issues about full disclosure,” Kent continues. “Ideally, a group should say
p front what it’s all about. Scientology, by contrast, staunchly protects its most impor-
tant information, and as a result, it’s very difficult to determine its motives.”

October 30, 2002

THE FUTURE OF FUTURISM

So Scientology has cleverly cashed in on our consumerism, our celebrity fetishising and
our searching for modern spirituality in a technological, globalised world. I’m starting
to think that these Scientologists, while perhaps a little creative in their beliefs, are
rather clever—they’re obviously filling a niche here and, as Cowan observes, “they may
be working very hard to create that niche, but they're satisfying it nonetheless.” The
combination of high-tech faith and entrepreneurial drive, as kooky as it may sound, has
proven successful for thousands of believers worldwide.

“I see Scientology as a multifaceted, transnational organisation, only part of which is
religious,” Kent says. In today’s context, one of corporations and global communica-
tion, Scientology seems to be the bizarre, perfect religious manifestation of our millen-
nial angst.

“Scientology looks like one of the new religious movements that will actually sur-
vive,” Palmer says. “They've overcome the death of their leader, as well as incredible per-
secution and bigotry.”

Jean La Riviere, Director of Public Affairs at Montréal’s Church of Scientology and a
practitioner of the faith since 1974, acknowledges how damaging the widespread criti-
cism and scapegoating of Scientology has been for its believers. “It’s hard to hear these
stories, which continue pushing negative stereotypes of our beliefs.” La Riviere observes
that any new religion encounters difficulty and opposition at its inception, as did
Christianity and other now-accepted faiths when they were getting off the ground.

“When you have a new religious movement, this kind of targeting happens because
the faith is not understood,” La Riviere says. “Right away, because they don’t have any
information, people will create information for themselves. It’s unfortunate, but that’s
how human nature wor

What does the future hold for Scientology? It’s hard to say. Now that society has
legions of second- and third-generation Scientologists on its hands, it looks as though
the faith is here to stay. “If the media start reporting on Scientology in a more positive
way,” Cowan remarks, “that might fuel its growth even more.”

In the end, Scientologists are harmless—they don't have laser eyes, they won't stalk
your family, they don’t have apocalyptic fantasies. They're just people who go to church,
like any other people who go to church. Ultimately, I’m amazed at how entrenched my
misconceptions about these people were, and I feel rather silly.

I have to say, my greatest comfort through this whole experience has been learning
that the personality test I took at the Church has been widely documented as being
skewed—designed to indicate that people have problems that Scientology can solve. So
while I may still need to worry about my stereotypes and biases, I can sleep easy about
my hysterical, violent outbursts.

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