Will US Congress, via Salmon & Payne, endorse dangerous cult; criticize US ally?

The present bill asserts that Germany is failing to protect the religious freedom of its citizens and of Americans in Germany, and requires Congress and the president to urge Germany to protect freedom of religion. A similar bill, which included a stipulation pressing Germany to recognize Scientology as a religion, failed overwhelmingly last year, 101-318.

The resolution mentions a few other groups aside from Scientology -- Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Charismatic Christians, and Muslims - but "Scientology" appears as many times as all the other groups' names put together, and one suspects the true focus and support of the resolution is with this organization.

Scientology has striven to influence members of the US Congress, who it hopes will in turn - via this resolution - influence Germany and send a message to the world that Scientology is a bona fide, law-abiding, safe religious organization. Scientology has hired the notable lobbying firm Federal Legislative Associates. Celebrity Scientologist John Travolta has lobbied on Congress on more than one occasion. He even discussed the issue in a much-publicized meeting with President Clinton in 1997, in which, per Travolta, the president said, "I'd really love to help you with your issue over in Germany with Scientology." Other American Scientologists - along with local members -- are demonstrating in Europe to claim discrimination.

Scientology's secretive, unethical, and illegal activities have spanned worldwide, but due in part to Germany's acute sensitivity to extremist political groups, the German government takes a strong stand against Scientology's activities. Scientology falsely labels Germany's stance "religious persecution" to divert attention from what is really at issue: the reasons that Germany, after extensive research, monitors Scientology and considers it a commercial business rather than a religion.

Why not recognize Scientology as a religion? Why monitor the group for anti-democratic activities and harms to public health and safety?

For one thing, Scientology was never meant to be a religion. For another, Scientology's goal is to take over democratic institutions of government, literally, to rule the world. Thirdly, Scientology's practices continue to cause extreme human rights violations, including suicides, deaths, and mental breakdowns by those who use it.

A religion by name only

"Scientology claims to be `the world's largest mental health organization.' What it really is however, is the world's largest organization of unqualified persons engaged in the practice of dangerous techniques which masquerade as mental therapy. Scientology is evil; its techniques evil; its practice a serious threat to the community, medically, morally and socially; and its adherents are sadly deluded and often mentally ill." [Report of the Parliament of the state of Victoria, Australia].

Scientology was never supposed to be a religion. What founder L. Ron Hubbard originally designed was a mental health program called Dianetics, still the core of Scientology's practices. The stated goal of the Dianetics program is to "clear" people of early negative memories, which are said to be the cause of any unhappiness or failure they may have encountered in their lives. Dianetics made impossible claims. It was purported to not only improve participants' intelligence and looks, but also grant them superpowers and the ability to be cured of all physical ailments, from colds to cancer.

Soon after Hubbard launched this "breakthrough" in mental therapy, his followers began to be arrested for practicing medicine without a license. Unsatisfied clients began filing complaints. In 1963, the Food and Drug Administration accused Scientology of practicing medicine without a license and ordered them to cease all such illegal activities.

In response, Hubbard announced to his followers that Scientology was no longer to be called a "psychotherapy;" henceforth they were to call it a "religion." He made it clear in a 1962 edict titled "Religion" that the change was purely a matter for the accountants and solicitors, and that it would not upset in any way the activities of any organizations.

This shift of nomenclature was a stroke of genius, or insanity. It allowed Scientology to use the First Amendment right of freedom of religion to shield itself from further scrutiny by an outside agency, thereby avoiding any government regulation or future charges of practicing medicine without a license. As an added precaution, Hubbard made the materials which contain his most outrageous curative health claims highly secret.

So Germany refuses to acknowledge Scientology as a religion. The country is not alone. Mexico, Israel, and Denmark have revoked Scientology's religious status, and last year, Greece closed down Scientology offices and refuses to allow them to operate. In June, Switzerland put Scientology under surveillance throughout the nation. The US itself steadfastly and repeatedly refused to grant Scientology status as a religion, until a strange and secret agreement was reached between Scientology and the IRS in 1987.

Given these facts, is it really the place of the US Congress to charge Germany with religious persecution? What if, in addition to its questionable religious status, Scientology also had anti-government plans? According to the Frankfurter Rundschau [July 13, 1998], "The German officials do not judge Scientology to be a religious system of beliefs, but a strongly profit-oriented commercial business... suspected of pursuing goals hostile to the constitution."

Rule the World

"In my opinion the church has one of the most effective intelligence operations in the U.S. rivaling even that of the FBI." [Ted Gunderson, former head of the FBI's Los Angeles office, quoted in Time Magazine, 5/6/91]

Scientology is a threat to our democratic institutions of government. Its goal is literally to rule the world.

This is not a conspiracy theory, but may be found in Scientology's own documents, written by founder L. Ron Hubbard. Scientology's headquarters in Los Angeles was the object of the biggest FBI raid in U.S. history, involving almost 150 agents. In this raid the FBI discovered many secret policy documents authored by Scientology's founder laying out Scientology's political goals: "The vital targets on which we must invest most of our time are: Depopularizing the enemy to the point of obliteration, Taking over the control or allegiance of the heads or proprietors of all news media, Taking over the control or allegiance of key political figures, Taking over the control or allegiance of those who monitor international finance..."

And Scientology has put its subversive government plans into action, with devastating consequences. In the 1980s, nine top leaders of Scientology pleaded guilty to burglaries, forgeries, infiltration, obstruction of justice, and other crimes against more than 100 US federal agencies including the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense.

In a memorandum to the judge in the case, a US federal prosecutor urged stiff jail sentences for the defendants, stating, "The crime committed by these defendants is of a breadth and scope previously unheard of. No building, office, desk, or file was safe from their snooping and prying. No individual or organization was free from their despicable conspiratorial minds. The tools of their trade were miniature transmitters, lock picks, secret codes, forged credentials and any other device they found necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes." [U.S. v. Heldt et al. 688 F.2d. 1238. (D.C. Cir 1980) Cert. Den. 456 U.S. 926 (1982)].

An organization with a goal of world domination and a history of government infiltration certainly ought to be carefully monitored, as does Germany. If Germany is more committed not to let anti-democratic movements take control, the US should be grateful rather than critical. Germany has learned from the suffering of many to be extremely careful with those it allows to rule. Germany is acutely aware of Scientology's history and methods, more aware than we are in the US.

The sponsor of the current US congressional resolution, Representative Salmon, is apparently unaware of Scientology's goals and history of infiltrating the US government. The person in his office responsible for this bill had never heard of these facts regarding Scientology, facts that are pertinent to the consideration of the proposed resolution.

And the resolution itself reflects a lack of research. The resolution quotes a United Nations report stating that Germany "must implement a strategy to prevent intolerance in the field of religion and belief" as evidence that Germany practices religious discrimination. Yet, that same UN report attested that Germany's measures against Scientology are "simply designed to protect citizens and the liberal democratic order," by assuring Scientology does not, among other actions, use "immoral and illegal techniques of psychological manipulation and repression."

According to the New York Times [April 2, 1998], "A United Nations special investigator appointed by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights today rejected charges by Scientology that the German Government is using ill treatment against it." And in response to Scientology's wild claims that Germany is persecuting its members as Nazi Germany persecuted Jews, the UN investigator stated, "This comparison between modern Germany and Nazi Germany is so shocking as to be meaningless and puerile."

The UN report not only derided criticisms made by Scientology, but contradicted claims the U S State Department made in its annual human rights reports criticizing Germany's treatment of Scientology, reports which the congressional resolution also quotes in defense of its position.

Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, Scientology is not allowed in Greece, is not considered a religion in Germany, Mexico, Israel, or Denmark, and is under investigation in Switzerland. The Swiss "suspect the association of pursuing totalitarian, and thereby constitutionally hostile, goals" [AFP, July 16, 1998].

Scientology's "religious" cloak is protecting it in the US from the scrutiny it should be receiving here. How would the US government be reacting to a group with Scientology's goals and history if it were not claiming to be a religious group?

Suicides, deaths, mental breakdowns

"If you really want to enslave people, tell them you are going to give them total freedom." [L. Ron Hubbard]

"Among the materials confiscated are reports of hundreds of suicides and attempted suicides of kids going psychotic during secret cult initiations that have been described on the Internet." --Denver Post, 8/23/95

If an organization poses significant risks to public health or safety, shouldn't the government stay abreast of the organization's activities?

Germany is justifiably careful about not letting groups come to power if they might pose a public danger, and Germany is aware of the suicides, deaths, and psychoses associated with the practice of Scientology.

Europe as a whole is becoming more sensitive to the cult problem. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights came to the US in January to discuss dangers posed by cults (and met with FACTNet director Robert Minton among many others). In April, the Belgian Parliament approved the establishment of a public Information and Advice Center on Harmful Cults, the purpose of which is to study cults, provide information and advice to the public, and set up a study center accessible by the general population. And just last week, a report produced by the European Parliament's Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs committee encourages the Parliament to address the problematic aspects of dangerous cults, such as mental and physical abuse, and dangers to public safety. Via this report, the European Parliament is urging European Union states "to clamp down on religious cults which might harm young and vulnerable people to ensure that information is made available about the dangers of cult membership," according to the Independent [July 11, 1998], of London.

Such initiatives are sorely needed, especially as the cult problem is expected to increase as the millennium quickly approaches. Dangerous cults, and particularly Scientology, pose significant threats to public health and safety.

Scientology's techniques can be bizarre, intense, physically harmful, and so stressful that people are driven to emotional breakdowns, psychotic episodes, and even suicide. Among the many who have approached, attempted, or commited suicide are Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard's first, second, and third wives, his son Quentin, his daughter Diana, and even Hubbard himself.

This decade, a few of the Scientology-related deaths include the following stories.

Noah Lottick was 24 years old when he became involved in Scientology in 1990. Within a year, after becoming convinced by Scientology operatives that his father was out to destroy him, Noah committed suicide by jumping from a Manhattan hotel room clutching $171, practically the only few dollars he had not given to Scientology.

In late 1996 the head of the Scientology organization in Paris was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to prison after the judge determined that Scientology's coercive tactics played a significant role in the tragic suicide of a Frenchman.

In mid-December 1995, a 36-year-old woman named Lisa McPherson died under mysterious circumstances while in Scientology's custody in Clearwater, Florida. She had been a Scientologist for many years but reportedly was trying to leave the organization. After a minor traffic accident, she was found wandering down the highway naked. Notes from paramedics who treated her indicate she was pleading for someone to help her. Yet Scientology representatives removed her from the hospital and took her back to the Scientology compound, where she could not receive proper medical or psychiatric treatment. Indeed, Scientology directives specifically forbid any medical attention for an individual in a psychotic episode. Instead, the person is to be isolated and put under guard while bizarre psychological procedures are applied by Scientology practitioners who have no formal training in dealing with severe mental trauma. In Lisa McPherson 's case, the procedures may actually have led to her death. The coroner reported she was so dehydrated she had not had anything to drink in five days, and she had insect bites -- possibly roach bites -- all over her body.

FACTNet has gathered hundreds of similar reports that allege outrageous human rights violations, forced abortions, child abuse, human experimentation utilizing mind control techniques, deaths, and suicides as a result of Scientology's methods. Not uncommon are reports of people being held against their will, forced to sleep in a small shack or garage, and guarded by people without medical or psychiatric training.

Doesn't an organization possibly responsible for threats to public health merit being monitored?

Conclusion

FACTNet would never condone impairing basic freedoms; indeed our mission is to protect freedom of mind. We are confident that Germany will continue to afford every constitutional freedom to Scientologists to believe whatever they want. It is Scientologists' actions that need monitoring. In short, Germany has reason not to recognize Scientology as a religion, and reason to monitor Scientology very closely. Germany is justified in the actions it has taken to protect its citizens from the dangerous practices of Scientology and the possibility of Scientology infiltrating government offices. In fact, if the United States did more to oppose Scientology's illegal actions, perhaps fewer people in the US would suffer. One of the most common questions FACTNet receives is, "With all that has been discovered about Scientology, why is the group allowed to continue?"

If other groups, such as the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, or Muslims, have sincere claims of religious discrimination, they should pursue those claims independent of Scientology, with whom they have little in common. Scientology's religious status is questionable at best. It has been involved in numerous illegal activities against the democratic institutions of our own nation, and one suspects it still is. And it is extremely harmful to those who try to practice it, as many ex-Scientologists will attest.

Please do not be fooled by Scientology's tales of religious discrimination. Please don't lend credibility to Scientology because it caters to high-profile celebrities. And please do not let this bill pass.

Let your congressional representatives know that you oppose the resolution; urge them not to cosponsor the resolution or vote in favor of it. Many members of Congress have their own web site, by which you can contact them. Links to these sites are easily available at www.house.gov/MemberWWW.html. Representative Salmon, sponsor of the resolution, has a page is at www.house.gov/salmon/. It would be a terrible mistake for the US Congress to falsely accuse an ally nation, especially at the behest of a dangerous cult.

This editorial opinion provided by FACTNet, Inc. FACTNet is a nonprofit Internet library dedicated to protecting freedom of mind by reducing harms caused by destructive cults and mind control. FACTNet's web page, which has received over 1,750,000 hits since January 1997, is located at www.factnet.org. If you would like to subscribe to our free FACTNews newsletter please go to http://lists.factnet.org/mailman/listinfo/factnet-news ~ Appropriate re-distribution and re-posting of this document is appreciated.