Over the last couple of weeks, I've become more interested in learning details about how the church of Scientology is hemorrhaging members. According to anecdotal reports, Scientology now has less than 50k active members.

I came across this fascinating video last weekend:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtpvcIsaB88

The speaker, Chris Shelton, brilliantly lays out Scientology's history of propaganda and PR tactics. It's well worth 37 minutes to watch it. The glassy-eyed girl in the video who is praising Scientology reminds me a lot of some Mormon apologists and TBMs. Shelton mentions Mormonism at the 26:00 mark.

I think that one reason Scientology is losing so many members so fast, compared to Mormonism, is that a lot of Scientology's apostates were high-ranking, high-profile members. Several of them, such as Marty Rathbun, Mike Rinder, and Leah Remini, have recently written books or appeared in programs critical of the cult. Maybe that is what's needed to make Mormonism reach a "tipping point" in the eyes of the public: it might require several former GAs or celebrities to apostasize and speak out in order for large numbers of TBMs to wake up.

Another major reason for Scientology's mass apostasy is the abusive, dictatorial style of their leader, David Miscavage. It's difficult in this day and age to force Westernized people to perform menial labor for miniscule wages, and maintain their devotion. The advent of cell phones and internet service is killing them. Informed people are a free people.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2016 02:15PM by randyj.

WOW! Interesting.

There's a lot of similarities between Mormonism and Scientology:

http://www.mormonthink.com/glossary/scientology.htm

I have said this before but LRonHubbard was crashing at the California OTO (Alistair Crowly cult) lodge when he cooked up scientology. Other than the costumes the OTO rituals I have witnessed were almost identical to the Mormon temple ceremony on YouTube.

siobhan Wrote:
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> I have said this before but LRonHubbard was crashing at the California OTO (Alistair Crowly cult) lodge when he cooked up scientology. Other than the costumes the OTO rituals I have witnessed were almost identical to the Mormon temple ceremony on YouTube.

That should come as no surprise, since OTO rituals were originally based on Masonic rituals.

From someone who has had (up to the point of seeing this video) almost no knowledge of the beliefs or life practices of Scientologists, this is a fascinating video on many levels.

I don't understand the appeal that Scientology has had for celebrities of different kinds...I don't understand what Scientology offers (or they THOUGHT offered) THEM...because the people I know about who became Scientologists all wound up losing in significant ways, with some of them being trapped--- at least, according to the enduring scuttlebutt around town.

I was completely unaware of the jargon (Scientology, put into words, sounds like some incomprehensible language to me), so this video (which quotes from original sources, etc.) was a surprise to me on that level.

For me, this was an amazing view into a "world" I had no knowledge of...

Thanks, randyj!!!

Like in Mormonism, the celebs are treated very differently than the rank and file member.

Cruise, in particular, is treated with kid gloves, presented with expensive gifts, fawned over by Miscavage, etc.

Cruise & Travolta were recruited early in their acting careers and have to some extent given Scientology credit for their success. There is some speculation that Travolta confessed to a gay relationship during an auditing session and is threatened with exposure should he ever denounce Scientology.

Follow Tony Ortega's blog if you want the scoop.

"There is some speculation that Travolta confessed to a gay relationship during an auditing session and is threatened with exposure should he ever denounce Scientology."

Supposedly, both Travolta and Tom Cruise are in the closet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhRghi4yF68

"I don't understand the appeal that Scientology has had for celebrities of different kinds...I don't understand what Scientology offers (or they THOUGHT offered) THEM..."

I'll offer an opinion: You know that a lot of celebrities/artists/creative types, especially actors, are more insecure/neurotic/eccentric than we normal well-adjusted people. :-)

A lot of them have rejected mainstream religion, but they're still looking for a "meaning-of-life" philosophy or some guiding set of principles that they hope will help them succeed or gain an edge in their careers.

The Steve Martin/Eddie Murphy movie "Bowfinger" poked fun at this phenomenon:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowfinger

Murphy plays a neurotic/paranoid actor who follows a self-help philosophy called "Mindhead," which is an obvious parody of Scientology. Martin, who plays a film director, believes that Mindhead is a crock. At one point, he slips up and almost calls it "Mindf*ck," knowing that that is what the org is doing to Murphy.

"the people I know about who became Scientologists all wound up losing in significant ways, with some of them being trapped--- at least, according to the enduring scuttlebutt around town."

That's part of the brainwashing: cults like Scientology (and Mormonism) make you believe that if you don't succeed in life, it's because you "sinned" or you didn't follow their sure-fire path to success. A lot of those Scientologists who lost everything believe that it's their fault, not the org's.