Recently, videos on TikTok have been flooding people’s For You pages with footage of “speed runs” of a church called Scientology, where individuals film themselves running as fast as they can through the buildings while screaming and honking air horns before being kicked out by staff. However, people see these videos and wonder, ” Why would people raid a church? Except what they don’t know is that this church has long been seen as a cult that uses people’s misfortune to make money and rip them away from human interaction altogether. People who see these videos must know the truth about Scientology, the tactics they use to recruit members, and most importantly, the physical and mental suffering they make people go through. So, what really goes on inside Scientology?
South Park
Notably, the general public knew nothing about Scientology’s teachings. Some Scientology members themselves didn’t know everything until an episode of South Park called Trapped In The Closet aired in 2005: “a critically acclaimed and highly influential American adult animated sitcom known for its surreal humor, dark satire, and rapid, timely production schedule that allows it to respond to current events in near real-time”. The creators of South Park had consulted with a journalist named Mark Ebner, who had researched Scientology for years. According to past members, South Park’s depiction of Scientology was incredibly accurate, including their recruiting tactics and explanation of the church and its teachings. Before Trapped In The Closet, people had heard of Scientology and often associated it with celebrity members of the church, but knowledge of the religion was extremely surface-level.
The episode depicted how Scientology lures members to enter their building by enticing a character named Stan with a free personality test and telling him about famous members like Tom Cruise. The personality test reveals that Stan is incredibly miserable, and the only solution is to pay for a Scientology course to improve himself. His readings from members led them to tell him the “truth” behind Scientology. Their explanation portrays the story of overpopulated planets ruled by a “Lord Xenu” that froze aliens, took them to volcanos on earth, and burned their bodies where their souls eventually escaped, followed by “soul catchers”, brainwashing, false realities, and eventually possessing humankind which caused all pain, fears, and confusions with “THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE” stated on the bottom of the segment. Later, the leader of Scientology reveals that Scientology is a global scam that thrives on people’s pain by charging them large amounts of money for courses and making millions. Upon learning this, Stan reveals the truth to Scientologists, nd the episode concludes with the leader trying to take legal action against Sta, where he makes a direct statement meant to be from the creators, where he says, “Do it. I don’t care, sue me.”
According to a video posted by a channel called Blooms on YouTube, the staff at Scientology went to extreme lengths to sue Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the directors of the show. Information that was once behind a $200,000 paywall was now free to the public, so they had to get the episode removed. They went as far as interviewing their friends, purchasing phone and bank records, hacking Airline reservations, and running the license plates in the parking lot at South Park Studios. Scientology came out empty-handed with material to sue for, and to this day the episode remains available.
What is Scientology?
Scientology is a religious movement founded by L. Ron Hubbard in 1954, with the first official church established in Los Angeles, California. In 1986, David Miscavige became the new leader of Scientology. Miscavige heavily recruits celebrities such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta by offering them privileges in the church to conceal controversy and improve their public image.
While this religion operates like a business rather than a religion, starting as a self-help movement that aims to help you better yourself, it slowly turns into a cult that reveals its teachings only after years of expensive courses. The cost of the courses has reportedly reached hundreds of thousands of dollars. Scientology has OT (Operating Thetan) Levels that serve as a ranking system that determines how “enlightened” one is, and to move up in levels, you need to pay the price. Moreover, the church forces members to disconnect from friends, family, and social interactions that “suppress” them. Once you’ve realized what you’ve gotten yourself into, it’s already too late.
What Do Scientologists Believe?
The church believes there is no god, but rather everyone is an immortal spiritual being called a “Thetan” who has divine powers which have been repressed after countless past lives. The church of Scientology helps members overcome “MEST” and awaken them through processes such as auditing and spiritual advancement. This is the process in which a counseling-like figure uses an electropsychometer (E-Meter) to ask questions and get answers that, like a lie detector, work somewhat like a lie detector to find things you’ve done wrong. Auditors ask extreme and leading questions to get the person to deny it and instead admit a desired confession. Scientology is known to use intense and aggressive intimidation tactics as well as suing journalists and government officials.
Jenna Miscavige’s Story
Former members have even accused the church of using abusive practices and forced manual labor, where believers are forced to work under extreme conditions. One former member’s story is available on LADbible Stories. The video depicts the life of Jenna Miscavige, a member born and raised in Scientology, the niece of David Miscavige, the leader of Scientology.
In the video, Jenna depicts the military-style life she saw people live at the Sea Org group and the total power Miscavige had over members. She states, “I knew he was important; I could see how people were afraid around him. How people treated him differently.” As a kid, Jenna remembers not being able to confide in friends because Auditors would force them to confess what others told them during interrogations. Any idea you thought you could confide in someone would eventually be told to the Auditors, and you would face consequences.
Another important part of Scientology was the Rehabilitation Project Force, which Dr. Stephen Kent at the University of Alberta describes as “to put coerced participants through regimes of harsh physical punishment, forced self-confessions, social isolation, hard labor, and intense doctrinal study, all as part of leadership-designed efforts to regain members’ ideological commitment.” In Scientology, this was a punishment where members were forced to wear all black, run everywhere they went, speak only when spoken to, undergo 5 hours of interrogation a day, and do heavy manual labor for any available free time they had. Members were also not allowed to have human emotions and reactions; if you expressed strong emotions, you were punished for them.
When she was moved out to the Sea Org and into a different Scientology building, she wasn’t allowed to have food or music in her dorm; she felt as if all her humanity was being stripped away. Jenna wasn’t able to see or talk to her family. If she tried calling, then she was held down by security, meaning there was no way to act out in rebellion, and it prevented people from leaving. Asking for outside help was impossible.
Conclusion
Scientology is not a religion; it’s a cult. A religion does not financially exploit members; if they really wanted to help people, they would not keep their teachings a secret. A religion does not exploit people of their basic human rights and free will with aggressive threats and forced separation from family members. The recent media exposure of the church is why it is so important for you, the reader, to spread the truth behind Scientology and its ideologies and keep people from entering their buildings.
