Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuse

[babylonsister]

Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuse
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: March 6, 2010


CLEARWATER, Fla. — Raised as Scientologists, Christie King Collbran and her husband, Chris, were recruited as teenagers to work for the elite corps of staff members who keep the Church of Scientology running, known as the Sea Organization, or Sea Org.

They signed a contract for a billion years — in keeping with the church’s belief that Scientologists are immortal. They worked seven days a week, often on little sleep, for sporadic paychecks of $50 a week, at most.

But after 13 years and growing disillusionment, the Collbrans decided to leave the Sea Org, setting off on a Kafkaesque journey that they said required them to sign false confessions about their personal lives and their work, pay the church thousands of dollars it said they owed for courses and counseling, and accept the consequences as their parents, siblings and friends who are church members cut off all communication with them.

“Why did we work so hard for this organization,” Ms. Collbran said, “and why did it feel so wrong in the end? We just didn’t understand.”

They soon discovered others who felt the same. Searching for Web sites about Scientology that are not sponsored by the church (an activity prohibited when they were in the Sea Org), they discovered that hundreds of other Scientologists were also defecting — including high-ranking executives who had served for decades.

Fifty-six years after its founding by the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who died in 1986, the church is fighting off calls by former members for a Reformation. The defectors say Sea Org members were repeatedly beaten by the church’s chairman, David Miscavige, often during planning meetings; pressured to have abortions; forced to work without sleep on little pay; and held incommunicado if they wanted to leave. The church says the defectors are lying.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/us/07scientology.html?hp

[leftofcool]

1. Ya gotta wonder about religion based on the works of a scifi writer.

Damn scary if you aske me.

[athenasatanjesus]

3. Not just A scifi writer but the worst ever nt

[snot]

6. um, that's a large claim.

And I like sci-fi.

[XemaSab]

11. Name a worse Sci-Fi writer

See? You can't do it. :P

[Stuart G]

2. An outstanding read..thanks for posting this K and R

[tanyev]

4. Wow, a billion year contract.

How do they enforce that after you die?

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. It's a scam!

And, Hubbard was perhaps the world's worst sci-fi writer to boot!

[Wilms]

7. .

[Selatius]

8. Scientology is just a criminal racket that claims to be a religion.

Somebody should think about applying RICO laws on them.

[Odin2005]

9. Yuck. These people are nuts.

[Hatchling]

10. When you take a "course" from them,

they make you sign a contract saying you won't sue them if something goes wrong.

[BigBearJohn]

12. It's a super cult. Nearly impossible to leave.