The other day I was watching a YouTube video where Brian Culkin suggests that Scientology as an organization in many ways is still stuck in 1962.
It made me think that one of the saddest things about Scientology, and what will ultimately lead to their undoing, is that they simply cannot and refuse to change.
As far as I know, LRH made no provision for change. There is nothing in the vast literature, there is no HCO bulletin that says, "If the church sustains consistent criticism on any particular issue, to the extent that it alienates and causes a lack of enrollment or seriously effects fundraising efforts, we must continue to stay true to the basic tenets of Scientology while making adjustments to ensure the life of the church at all costs..."
(Or maybe he did and a certain Tasmanian Troll destroyed it!)
Anyway, I remember reading that at some point LRH was impressed with Ray Kroc's business model for McDonalds, and created the Orgs and Missions with the idea of "franchising" Scientology. This was probably a great idea financially, the only problem is he left one thing out of the business model - the capacity for change.
When you look at McDonald's, their menu is different around the world. They have a special potato burger in India that is different from the veggie burger served in Germany. In Australia you can order Vegemite with your English Muffin. In Japan you can order an "EBI Fillet" which is basically a shrimp Big Mac. McDonald's in Egypt serves the McArabia - a pita sandwich with lamb or chicken, and on and on.
My point is McDonald's knows that one menu is not going to work for the whole world, and that if it wants to continue to be relevant, an organization has to evolve. It's too bad that LRH never had the idea for a board of directors or a Scientology "congress" that the President or leader would have to be accountable to - things might have been very different.
For example, that fact that the church continues to be homophobic (in Hollywood, for God's sake!) is so counterintuitive to its desire to make money, given the fact that professional gay people, very often, have lots of it. (Let me be clear, I know that there are many who don't.) But until more gay people begin to adopt, there is a large group of us, specifically gay men without children who live in big cities, who might be willing to spend their money on Scientology if it wasn't common knowledge that "the church" will try to change you or might humiliate you one day because of your sexuality. Major source of revenue, but they'll never see any of it.
What if there was an oversight or steering committee that decided to finally put an end to disconnection? People would be able to socialize with non-Scientologist family members and ex-Scientologists and even bring them to events without censure or fear of reprisal.
They would then make the price of auditing more reasonable and affordable (in other words, they would stop being so goddamned greedy!), and would do away with the Hole, the RPF and all Sec Checks.
The Sea Org would be a 10 year contract, renewable, and people could build families with proper opportunity to spent time with their children. The profanity and emotional violence through the organization would stop, and anyone engaging in physical violence would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Work days would end a specific time, regardless of whether goals were achieved. There would be no more knowledge reports, and an eventual phasing out of the Potential Trouble Source material.
All workers would be paid minimum wage and would be given regular holidays off and Sundays. If someone wants to leave the church or the Sea Org, they can leave freely, and return at a later date if they left on good terms. No freeloader debt.
Auditing would exist, without the motivation of making money but of truly helping people. There would be no OT levels and the name Xenu would never be mentioned again. It would be agreed that at some point LRH lost his mind when he created the OT levels, that they are a delusional fantasy and undermine the church's authority in the eyes of the public.
The only goal would be to go "clear", and going clear would be redefined. Being declared "clear" wouldn't have anything to do with perfection or cause over matter, it would be a state of consciousness where one takes full responsibility for how they effect others and choose to see the impact of their choices on the world around them. In other words, it would be a commitment one made to how they lived their life from now on rather than an actual spiritual state or achievement.
A formal apologize would be made to Lisa McPherson's surviving relatives and a building in Clearwater would be named in her honor - dedicated to mental health. A olive branch would be extended to psychiatrists, specifically those who don't work to overmedicate their patients and who seem willing to create a world that is free of pain and dedicated to peace.
Even as I write this, I wonder - if all these things were taking away, maybe it wouldn't be Scientology at all anymore, which makes me think that Scientology is really just the brain child of a man who had, perhaps, a few good ideas but eventually descended into madness (or was mad from the beginning) and finally paranoid schizophrenia. Perhaps all these aspects of Scientology that I'm modifying or taking away are what makes up the religion and it isn't Scientology without them.
However, my final thought is that the church was foolish not to listen to Marty Rathbun and to accept his leadership. If there was a way out, it was Marty. He might have truly lead things in a new direction and implemented some of the things I'm describing here. But we'll never know, because they eventually wore him down, and he had real enthusiasm and belief at one point. He was their Sunshine Boy once, but eventually the light went out.
Ultimately, the church is going to die because it will go extinct, like the dinosaurs. In a world of iPhones, iPads and great technological feats and spiritual and psychological breakthroughs, I believe that people will grow more and more impatient with Scientology's fear-based approach and will simply walk away.
As for me, I'm counting the days....