HOW MANY ARE STILL IN ?

[mockingbird]

This thread is to ask a kind of two part question:

Right now how many people are still IN scientology as staff , public and SO ACTIVELY on-lines , and for public I mean going in on course or to do stuff at least once a week , and not just hiding under the radar to avoid a declare and disconnection , fair game etc.

I've got so many conflicting and old pieces of info on this it's hard to sort out.

Second does anyone know real or accurate numbers on a very rough timeline on the growth and decline of cult (scientology) membership , and if possible trends that influenced or created huge growth or decline.

In studying other cults like the KKK and Aum Shinrikyo it appears that these groups often go through periods of massive growth , and then when their CRIMES are revealed broadly through media , and horrible atrocities publicized , they go through MASSIVE shrinkage , sometimes over 90% in a few months!!!

I'm hoping to see this trend continue for scientology as they have DOZENS of ugly court cases now.

I hope these cases DON'T get gag settlements , the pr damage they can cause is worth BILLIONS in lost members , slaves , and accompanying revenue.

 

[ThetanExterior]

Every single person on lines, staff, public, SO, raw public has to have an IAS membership, even if it's just a free introductory membership.

Therefore the IAS membership number is the total number of people still involved, so naturally this figure is a closely-guarded secret.

I know for a fact that around 1990 the figure was 68,000. I was told this "in confidence" by a high-ranking IAS person who was personally appointed by David Miscavige.

By all accounts, this figure will be much lower now but whatever it is, it shows that when they talk about "millions of Scientologists" they are just talking nonsense.

 

[lkwdblds]

This thread is to ask a kind of two part question:

Right now how many people are still IN scientology as staff , public and SO ACTIVELY on-lines , and for public I mean going in on course or to do stuff at least once a week , and not just hiding under the radar to avoid a declare and disconnection , fair game etc.

I've got so many conflicting and old pieces of info on this it's hard to sort out.

Second does anyone know real or accurate numbers on a very rough timeline on the growth and decline of cult (scientology) membership , and if possible trends that influenced or created huge growth or decline.

In studying other cults like the KKK and Aum Shinrikyo it appears that these groups often go through periods of massive growth , and then when their CRIMES are revealed broadly through media , and horrible atrocities publicized , they go through MASSIVE shrinkage , sometimes over 90% in a few months!!!

I'm hoping to see this trend continue for scientology as they have DOZENS of ugly court cases now.

I hope these cases DON'T get gag settlements , the pr damage they can cause is worth BILLIONS in lost members , slaves , and accompanying revenue.

I have a strong interest in this subject as well and every time the subject comes up, I read the article. My estimates are second hand info but are taken from those who I believe are the top authorities on the subject.

I define a member as someone who is active, either on staff, receiving auditing or training and/or still paying money into the orgs, the IAS, the Ideal Orgs, etc. The high tide for these types of active members seems to have occurred in 1991 when the number of active members reached 125,000 or maybe as high as 150,000. Current best estimates are that there are currently about 10,000 S.O. members and other staff and 20,000 or so active parishioners for a grand total of 30,000 active members.

The dwindling number of members has not hurt them financially as much as one might think because they have shifted their emphasis to pursuing celebrities and other very wealthy people, instead of pursuing every day middle class people as they once did. Thus rank and file people are recruited for staff while the public parishioners, for the most part, now consist of very rich people. As a result, even though hard core membership has decreased by about 80% in the last 23 years, they are taking in more money than ever before.
Lakey

 

[Operating DB]

During the Mission crisis of 1982/83 the Ann Arbor Michigan area I'm from lost more people than those ending up continuing the nightmare. Eventually the Org disappeared from Ann Arbor. YAY!

After the mass exodus I've only heard of a handful that later left in the following decades. I've also heard that some are simply inactive but still true believers or supporters. I often wonder how those that I was close to are doing now, where their lives lead them and are they really still that brainwashed. It's confounding that they still believe the fantasy.

 

[opahgirl]

During the Mission crisis of 1982/83 the Ann Arbor Michigan area I'm from lost more people than those ending up continuing the nightmare. Eventually the Org disappeared from Ann Arbor. YAY!

After the mass exodus I've only heard of a handful that later left in the following decades. I've also heard that some are simply inactive but still true believers or supporters. I often wonder how those that I was close to are doing now, where their lives lead them and are they really still that brainwashed. It's confounded that they still believe the fantasy.

i hope that now with vips and ex so execs speaking publicly and denouncung scn the impact will be huge.......ita HAS to be huge....if not now.then when???media ,internet,tv,,legal cases..........i trully hope it works fast......the fastest the easiest on the pure slaves the s.o. members who will get all the hot steam on their faces..........from the insane hobbit leader.........

 

[lotus]

Apart for SO and Staff,

I would bet there is more $cientologists here thanwithin the CO$

CO$ has moved on internet to ESMB
A step further on the bridge to freedom!

 

[DeeAnna]

The turnout for the grand opening of the Super Power building in Clearwater was estimated as what number? Was it 4,000 or was that the estimated number after the overhead shots of "the crowd" had been filled in by photoshopping them?

A really, really, really important event like that would be some indication of the number of adherents. Wasn't the church itself predicting a turnout of at least 10,000?

Kirstie Alley on Howard Stern: "Tens of millions"

 

[oneonewasaracecar]

Mark Headley had something about this in blown for good. Something about the number of new e-meters manufactured. He got the numbers from there. Can't remember what they were though.

 

[FoTi]

Every single person on lines, staff, public, SO, raw public has to have an IAS membership, even if it's just a free introductory membership.

Therefore the IAS membership number is the total number of people still involved, so naturally this figure is a closely-guarded secret.

I know for a fact that around 1990 the figure was 68,000. I was told this "in confidence" by a high-ranking IAS person who was personally appointed by David Miscavige.

By all accounts, this figure will be much lower now but whatever it is, it shows that when they talk about "millions of Scientologists" they are just talking nonsense.

A lot of Scientologists have/had lifetime memberships in the IAS......doesn't mean they are still involved, so the IAS membership number is not necessarily the total number of people still involved, since a lot of those lifetime members have walked away, but are most likely still counted as the total members of the IAS.

 

[Lesolee (Sith Lord)]

Apart for SO and Staff,
I would bet there is more $cientologists here thanwithin the CO$

Given that this board has only 5857 members as of today I would suggest there are more total Scn "in" than registered on this board. However, you were removing SO and Staff so that is more tricky.:confused2:

On the other hand there are typically 10x as many non-registered members viewing than registered members so on the stat: "public versus ESMB viewers" you may be right.

 

[Lesolee (Sith Lord)]

A lot of Scientologists have/had lifetime memberships in the IAS......doesn't mean they are still involved, so the IAS membership number is not necessarily the total number of people still involved, since a lot of those lifetime members have walked away, but are most likely still counted as the total members of the IAS.

Well I still have my IAS Founding Member card, and I did Crusader plus a bit more. I bet my name is still on their stats, even though I asked for a refund. I don't think I kept a copy of the letter, but I probably mentioned fraud, and criminal abuse of Sea Org members.

Of course with any (non-criminal) organisation one should be able to request (in the UK) the Data Protection Officer to remove your membership details and a "Freedom of Information" request to state the number of IAS members. But who would believe the results from the Co$

Maybe its time for a letter campaign to the IAS to get membership firmly established as removed. If they get hundreds of letters in one week, that might hit the spot!

 

[ThetanExterior]

Well I still have my IAS Founding Member card, and I did Crusader plus a bit more. I bet my name is still on their stats, even though I asked for a refund. I don't think I kept a copy of the letter, but I probably mentioned fraud, and criminal abuse of Sea Org members.

Of course with any (non-criminal) organisation one should be able to request (in the UK) the Data Protection Officer to remove your membership details and a "Freedom of Information" request to state the number of IAS members. But who would believe the results from the Co$

Maybe its time for a letter campaign to the IAS to get membership firmly established as removed. If they get hundreds of letters in one week, that might hit the spot!

That's interesting because I'm in the UK and asked for a refund and got it.

I was a Patron and got all my money back.

Maybe I'm just a badass.

 

[Lesolee (Sith Lord)]

That's interesting because I'm in the UK and asked for a refund and got it.

I was a Patron and got all my money back.

Maybe I'm just a badass.

Damn

Evidently "my [Sith] powers are weak".

 

[Lesolee (Sith Lord)]

That's interesting because I'm in the UK and asked for a refund and got it.

I was a Patron and got all my money back.

So, was your refund before or after mine.



I sent mine in by fax, email and post to make sure it arrived.

I did get a response from somebody in the USA saying the donations were not refundable.

 

[ThetanExterior]

So, was your refund before or after mine.

View attachment 7618

I sent mine in by fax, email and post to make sure it arrived.

I did get a response from somebody in the USA saying the donations were not refundable.

I can't remember the exact date but it was probably just a few years before yours.

I remember Ginger Smith. She used to give me special briefings because I was so "special".

When I asked for a refund I bypassed her and went straight to the top, as far as I remember. It was probably the Head Office, wherever that was at the time.

And yes, I got a reply saying the donations were non-refundable and that the donation forms that I signed had stated this, so that's when I sent them my killer letter.

I don't remember exactly what was in it but it would have mentioned at least the following points:

Scientology encompasses all of the works of L. Ron Hubbard and no one else. The membership of Scientology, as set up by Hubbard, is the Hubbard Association Of Scientologists (HASI) which is still in existence because Hubbard never cancelled it. The IAS was set-up by persons other than Hubbard and is therefore a non-Scientology (squirrel) organisation.

The IAS was formed by order of a Scientology Policy Directive (SPD), which is a non-Hubbard Policy and is therefore squirrel.

The stated aim of the IAS is to "protect Scientology and Scientologists". Well, I was prevented from going up the Bridge by RTC who were applying Policy non-standardly (I had completed the full OEC course twice, plus internship so I knew that the RTC people I was dealing with were wrong). The IAS did nothing to protect me, a Scientologist, or the Policy of Scientology.

I also would have listed numerous examples of out-tech and off-Policy that I was seeing regularly and I would have repeated my request for a refund on the basis that I was defrauded, and I would have copied the letter to as many relevant government bodies as I could find while making sure the IAS could see where I was sending it.

That seemed to do the trick because I got a full refund very soon afterwards, pretty much by return of post.