FullOfEmpathy
Patron
First and foremost, I want to let everyone know that I’ve never been involved in Scientology, so my viewpoints are from an outsider looking in. However, looking back, I see a time in my life when I could have very easily been influenced by the principles of Scientology; and I chalk not getting involved up more to luck and good fortune than to sound decisions on my part. The reason I’m writing this post is to tell you how I came to know of Scientology, how I found this message board, and my thoughts on Scientology as a psychologist.
I know that I can never fully empathize with someone who is now an ex-Scientologist, having never been there myself. While reading many of these posts and stories, I realized how strong you have to be to get out; my heart just aches when I read of the abuses that many of you endured; and I am angered on many levels. I deeply commend each and every one of you for not only getting out, but for telling your stories and sharing your experiences so that others may learn. I want you to understand that this post is written from my heart as well as through the lens with which I see the world, which is obviously colored by my training as a psychologist. Please know that my goal here is in no way to try to shift anyone’s thinking about psychology or psychiatry, but rather to share my feelings and voice how appalled I am at the practices and tenets of the Church of Scientology.
I grew up in central Florida, not far from Flag. I was raised in a non religious family environment, and religion in general did not have much of a place in my life. I knew little of Scientology, but learned bits and pieces along the way, beginning in my college years. I attended a college close to Flag. This meant that it was not at all unusual for me to see “Dianetics” tables set up in the breezeways of various buildings on campus. The tables were staffed by two or three people; there were always a few students who had stopped to talk to them. I never stopped to see what they were about; I was approached a few times to take the “personality test”, but never did—I was always running late to class, or just not interested. I also used to frequent a flea market not far from campus, where there was always a Dianetics booth that was similarly staffed. Again, by pure luck, Karma, or grace, I never stopped to talk to them. At that time, I had no preconceived notions of Scientology. Because I consider myself no more or less impressionable than the average person, I have no doubt that had I stopped to talk to them, I might very well have gotten involved.
My junior year of college was a difficult one. To make a very long story short, a family member of mine had some very serious psychological difficulties. It was at this time that I feel I would have probably been most vulnerable to Scientology, but again, it was just luck that kept me from stumbling across it. Instead, I completed the requisite courses for the major I had been studying, and then took an intro to psychology class to see if I could find some answers. A long story for another post is how I eventually changed my major to psychology, completed my Bachelor’s degree, and went on to graduate education.
My senior year, I again came into contact with Scientology. I was part of a program which required a senior year project. I worked with part of a group that decided to do a critical review and exploration of non-mainstream religions. I chose Scientology, because it was something I knew little about, and also because I was intrigued by the fact that Flag was located so close to campus. I read popular media articles and books (at this time, the internet was in its infancy). I also spoke to a few people who I knew to be involved in Scientology. I came away thinking that the beliefs (those which I became aware of, and I now realize I knew very little of Scientology’s actual beliefs) were interesting, but more saliently, I was shocked to learn that in essence, you had to “pay to believe”. I see now that I was giving Scientology the benefit of the doubt in a big way, and assuming that it was in fact a legitimate religious organization. The biggest issue I had was one of the financial outlay expected of church members. Little did I know that there was a far bigger picture involved. I wrote up my part of the project, took the grade of A we had earned, and didn’t give Scientology much thought after that.
My understanding of Scientology as a layperson remained pretty static until recently. I suppose my beliefs could have been summed up easily—I thought Scientologists were a bit wacky, and it was a bit cultish—but I’m also open-minded and I am all for freedom of choice, so my attitude was, “whatever works for them”. In no way did I understand that it was dangerous on many levels. Believe it or not, even with a degree in psychology, I wasn’t aware that Scientologists considered psychology/psychiatry to be the enemy. It wasn’t until Tom Cruise spoke out against mental health care as provided by my field that I understood this viewpoint of Scientologists.
Since graduating, I had moved to another part of Florida, which is where I reside now. Fast forward to recent history. I was reading on another (non-Scientology related) message board, and one of the things mentioned on that board was the fact that there are many professionals (mostly chiropractors, dentists, and veterinarians) that use practice-building/management companies that are Scientology-based. I visit practitioners in all three of those professions, so I was curious whether or not any of the practitioners I used were using those management companies. In the process of looking into this, I began to read information about Scientology’s history, beliefs, and current state of affairs. I found this message board, I found xenu.net, and I found other websites like whyaretheydead.net.
To say that I was appalled on many levels would be a gross understatement. Even today, I’m not sure where to start. Where do I start? The LRH quotes about “starting a religion for money”? The difficult-to-swallow beliefs about Xenu, the horrific treatment of staff members, the infiltration of the IRS? The deaths of church members, the extremely damaging psychological techniques employed by the church, the financial ruin of church members, the disconnections from family and friends? The completely ridiculous granting of 501c3 status, the grossly inaccurate portrayal of psychology/psychiatry, the harassment and threats to those who leave? The insidious nature of WISE, Study Tech, etc.? I could spend another paragraph going on like that. On every level, I find it offensive.
Maybe I should start with what I know best and go from there. I was shocked to learn about the techniques employed by the church that I know to be very psychologically damaging. I’m not even speaking about people being taken off of psychiatric medication, or about the belief that psychology and psychiatry are evil. The choice to go off of medication, or to have a certain belief set are very personal decisions, and are decisions that are valid, if made of free will. What I am speaking about are the techniques employed that do tremendous damage to self-esteem, techniques that break down trust, and practices that invalidate valuable emotions.
I would like to speak more here about these things, but it occurred to me as I write this that people may not want to read what I have to say, or may be offended by my opinions. That is not my intent at all. So I am going to post this as it stands now, and let you as the caretakers of this community let me know if these are things you are interested in hearing. If not, then I will appreciate your reading of this post and your honest reply, and I will not continue. If you are interested, I will continue on.
Either way, I thank you for allowing me to post this much, and allowing me access to your community.
I commend you all.
I know that I can never fully empathize with someone who is now an ex-Scientologist, having never been there myself. While reading many of these posts and stories, I realized how strong you have to be to get out; my heart just aches when I read of the abuses that many of you endured; and I am angered on many levels. I deeply commend each and every one of you for not only getting out, but for telling your stories and sharing your experiences so that others may learn. I want you to understand that this post is written from my heart as well as through the lens with which I see the world, which is obviously colored by my training as a psychologist. Please know that my goal here is in no way to try to shift anyone’s thinking about psychology or psychiatry, but rather to share my feelings and voice how appalled I am at the practices and tenets of the Church of Scientology.
I grew up in central Florida, not far from Flag. I was raised in a non religious family environment, and religion in general did not have much of a place in my life. I knew little of Scientology, but learned bits and pieces along the way, beginning in my college years. I attended a college close to Flag. This meant that it was not at all unusual for me to see “Dianetics” tables set up in the breezeways of various buildings on campus. The tables were staffed by two or three people; there were always a few students who had stopped to talk to them. I never stopped to see what they were about; I was approached a few times to take the “personality test”, but never did—I was always running late to class, or just not interested. I also used to frequent a flea market not far from campus, where there was always a Dianetics booth that was similarly staffed. Again, by pure luck, Karma, or grace, I never stopped to talk to them. At that time, I had no preconceived notions of Scientology. Because I consider myself no more or less impressionable than the average person, I have no doubt that had I stopped to talk to them, I might very well have gotten involved.
My junior year of college was a difficult one. To make a very long story short, a family member of mine had some very serious psychological difficulties. It was at this time that I feel I would have probably been most vulnerable to Scientology, but again, it was just luck that kept me from stumbling across it. Instead, I completed the requisite courses for the major I had been studying, and then took an intro to psychology class to see if I could find some answers. A long story for another post is how I eventually changed my major to psychology, completed my Bachelor’s degree, and went on to graduate education.
My senior year, I again came into contact with Scientology. I was part of a program which required a senior year project. I worked with part of a group that decided to do a critical review and exploration of non-mainstream religions. I chose Scientology, because it was something I knew little about, and also because I was intrigued by the fact that Flag was located so close to campus. I read popular media articles and books (at this time, the internet was in its infancy). I also spoke to a few people who I knew to be involved in Scientology. I came away thinking that the beliefs (those which I became aware of, and I now realize I knew very little of Scientology’s actual beliefs) were interesting, but more saliently, I was shocked to learn that in essence, you had to “pay to believe”. I see now that I was giving Scientology the benefit of the doubt in a big way, and assuming that it was in fact a legitimate religious organization. The biggest issue I had was one of the financial outlay expected of church members. Little did I know that there was a far bigger picture involved. I wrote up my part of the project, took the grade of A we had earned, and didn’t give Scientology much thought after that.
My understanding of Scientology as a layperson remained pretty static until recently. I suppose my beliefs could have been summed up easily—I thought Scientologists were a bit wacky, and it was a bit cultish—but I’m also open-minded and I am all for freedom of choice, so my attitude was, “whatever works for them”. In no way did I understand that it was dangerous on many levels. Believe it or not, even with a degree in psychology, I wasn’t aware that Scientologists considered psychology/psychiatry to be the enemy. It wasn’t until Tom Cruise spoke out against mental health care as provided by my field that I understood this viewpoint of Scientologists.
Since graduating, I had moved to another part of Florida, which is where I reside now. Fast forward to recent history. I was reading on another (non-Scientology related) message board, and one of the things mentioned on that board was the fact that there are many professionals (mostly chiropractors, dentists, and veterinarians) that use practice-building/management companies that are Scientology-based. I visit practitioners in all three of those professions, so I was curious whether or not any of the practitioners I used were using those management companies. In the process of looking into this, I began to read information about Scientology’s history, beliefs, and current state of affairs. I found this message board, I found xenu.net, and I found other websites like whyaretheydead.net.
To say that I was appalled on many levels would be a gross understatement. Even today, I’m not sure where to start. Where do I start? The LRH quotes about “starting a religion for money”? The difficult-to-swallow beliefs about Xenu, the horrific treatment of staff members, the infiltration of the IRS? The deaths of church members, the extremely damaging psychological techniques employed by the church, the financial ruin of church members, the disconnections from family and friends? The completely ridiculous granting of 501c3 status, the grossly inaccurate portrayal of psychology/psychiatry, the harassment and threats to those who leave? The insidious nature of WISE, Study Tech, etc.? I could spend another paragraph going on like that. On every level, I find it offensive.
Maybe I should start with what I know best and go from there. I was shocked to learn about the techniques employed by the church that I know to be very psychologically damaging. I’m not even speaking about people being taken off of psychiatric medication, or about the belief that psychology and psychiatry are evil. The choice to go off of medication, or to have a certain belief set are very personal decisions, and are decisions that are valid, if made of free will. What I am speaking about are the techniques employed that do tremendous damage to self-esteem, techniques that break down trust, and practices that invalidate valuable emotions.
I would like to speak more here about these things, but it occurred to me as I write this that people may not want to read what I have to say, or may be offended by my opinions. That is not my intent at all. So I am going to post this as it stands now, and let you as the caretakers of this community let me know if these are things you are interested in hearing. If not, then I will appreciate your reading of this post and your honest reply, and I will not continue. If you are interested, I will continue on.
Either way, I thank you for allowing me to post this much, and allowing me access to your community.
I commend you all.