The downfall of Scientology

It has fascinated me for years, the Church of Scientology, and therefore I have also written about it several times. It even earned me an invitation to their ‘church’ in Amsterdam, which of course I immediately accepted. I promised not to write about that so I'll stick to that, but the fact that my fascination (mixed with fear) only increased afterwards probably says enough. What I did find hugely striking is that it is a beautiful building. Gigantically large, on Wibautstraat in Amsterdam, with several floors, offices, even its own bookstore, several meeting rooms equipped with stages for speakers... What I had already heard about the Church of Scientology in the United States is certainly true in the Netherlands too: they are extremely rich.

And extremely powerful too, especially in the United States. Their spiritual headquarters can be found in Clearwater, Florida, a city they have actually taken over completely over time. They now own 185 properties there, which converts to almost 410,000 square metres. Yep, Clearwater ís actually Scientology itself. But their power extends far beyond Clearwater or Florida: they also had a finger in the pie in California. Had, indeed, because it seems Scientology's downfall has finally begun.

With the most recent example being the conviction of actor Danny Masterson, who received 30 years to life for the rape of three women. Masterson is a dedicated Scientologist and when you also have a well-known face you quickly imagine yourself inviolable. And that's not surprising: during his trial it came out that employees in key positions within the LA police (the LAPD) were secretly working for Scientology. These rumours had been circulating for years, but were finally confirmed during this trial.

It is one of the many accusations that actress Leah Remini has also been making about Scientology for years; she was a member, but stepped out with the mission of creating awareness of how things actually go in the church. Courageous, because that really can be at risk. The ‘church’ (I keep writing it in inverted commas, as it is not officially a faith) is known to make its former members' lives miserable through stalking, slander and even threats, and Leah Remini reported this last August.

Scientology, of course, has not been known as pure coffee for some time, but there was never any real hard evidence. We all probably remember when Katie Holmes made the decision to divorce Tom Cruise; according to persistent rumours, she signed a contract stating that she will never speak openly about Scientology. She would receive in return that Tom Cruise would have no contact with daughter Suri; Katie would not want her to get involved with Scientology. A well-founded fear, because this did happen to his ex-wife Nicole Kidman: she no longer has any contact with her children, who are devoted members of the Church of Scientology. Because their mother is not and has expressed herself negatively about the movement, they are no longer allowed to have contact with her.

In recent months, however, there seems to be a change; it is no longer just rumours or bad reputation, it has become mostly lawsuits for Scientology. Lawsuits with not insipid charges (which, of course, they are trying with all their might to keep out of the media); the leader David Miscavige has now been summoned 27 times in two states to report to court on human trafficking charges. Side note: David Miscavige's wife, Shelly, is still missing and police refuse to do anything about this. According to the judge, David Miscavige refused to cooperate with these new charges and he does not want to tell where he is staying.

The charges were brought by, among others, Gawain Baxter, who was born into Scientology; his parents placed him in the Sea Organisation's (Scientology's highest department) nursery when he was two months old, and by the time he was six, he was placed in a dormitory with a hundred other children to live and work there. Yep, you read it right: the children were expected to work for Scientology at this age. In fact, all children aged six or over were considered adults, and so they are put to work for the ‘church’.

A total of three people have filed lawsuits against Scientology for child labour and human trafficking. But more lawsuits are pending: a then 16-year-old girl this summer launched a lawsuit because she says she was sexually abused within the movement, was even forced to marry her abuser, and when she wanted to report it in 1991, the police had no ears for it. Those were the heyday of Scientology, now let the downfall come.

And if the lawsuits don't cause enough stress within what I see as a deadly cult and nothing less, they have yet another blow to deal with. And perhaps the biggest of all: even Tom Cruise seems to have renounced Scientology. The downfall has started, and I am totally here for it.