In an interview shown on NBC's Today on June 24, celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise railed against modern treatments for mental health problems. "I've never agreed with psychiatry, ever," he said. Do all Scientologists have a problem with psychiatry? Yes. Scientology has its roots in a maverick form of psychological counseling that rejects the principles of modern psychiatry. In 1950, L. Ron Hubbard published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. (He founded the Church of Scientology a few years later.) The ...

LOS ANGELES — Its detractors have compared the Church of Scientology to a cult, but the controversy that often surrounds it did not deter Horizon Media from taking on the business. "It's freedom of speech," said Zach Rosenberg, evp and general manager for Horizon in Los Angeles. "Everyone has a right to market a belief, and we want to help them." The independent agency won media responsibilities for the church's account following a review that included incumbent URI, Beverly Hills, Calif.; ...

Critic: Are you guys a cult? Mike Ferris, Public Relations Spokesperson, Church of Scientology of NZ: Depends on what you mean by a cult. Every religion in its forming stage was considered to be a cult, pretty much. Critic: You guys aren't in your forming stages though, you've been around for fifty years. You claim to be the only major religion that's emerged out of the twentieth century. So, are you a cult? Ferris: Not in the derogatory sense, no, we ...

We don't have to tell YOU about L.Ron Hubbard, his book Dianetics, and the religion it spawned—Scientology. In fact, until just recently, most media outlets WOULDN'T tell you about it given Scientology's well-deserved reputation for litigation. Instead, let us tell you about Tory Bezazian. In 1969 Tory hitchhiked from Chicago to L.A. to become a disciple of Dianetics. She invested untold tens of thousands of hours and dollars in it (the annual price tag for a membership in the International Association ...

It was 2:15 p.m. when Keith Henson and his friend Gregg Hagglund finished picking up contact-lens solution and shaving lotion at a suburban Toronto mall and climbed into their car. Before they could fasten their seat belts, two unmarked vans squealed up, pinning their Mazda economy sedan in from the rear and the passenger side. A handful of emergency-services task-force officers – Canada‘s version of a police SWAT team – spilled out, wearing body armor and carrying submachine guns. As shoppers ...

Keith Henson, American activist on the run in Canada, thinks the controversial Church of Scientology has made him fair game for dirty tricks Looking back, maybe the joke about the "Tom Cruise Missile" wasn't such a good idea. That online jest, made last year by Keith Henson, a peaceful if persistent critic of the controversial Church of Scientology, has led to his being found guilty of "intimidating a religion," and now on the run from the U.S., hiding out in plain ...

ANNOUNCER: On December 14, 1998, this is “Investigative Reports”. BILL KURTIS: Hello, I’m Bill Kurtis. It is America’s most controversial religion. Some, in fact, say it’s not a religion at all. For 40 years, the Church of Scientology has flourished in this country, while under constant attack by the government, the media, and the psychiatric profession. It’s been perceived as an organization interested only in money making, which brainwashes its members and then bankrupts them; all untrue, say its leaders and ...

I recently read a column by Alex Beam in the September 16 edition of the Boston Globe. It was titled "Boston U's Scientology Connection" and it was about Earle Cooley. One thing that really caught my eye was the part where Beam said that "whenever Cooley and I discussed the excesses committed by the church - the harassment of a journalist, for instance - he said he had no knowledge of illegal activities." I had to laugh when I read ...

From: jesse_prince@minton.org (Jesse Prince) Subject: What—–Who? Date: 1998/08/04 Message-ID: <35c67b4b.1795322@news.tiac.net> X-Deja-AN: 377691976 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Organization: ARSCC Mime-Version: 1.0 Reply-To: bob@minton.org Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology If you had the unfortunate experience of having had the "privilege" of paying tens of thousands of dollars for Scientology auditing, then you'll have an idea of what I'm about to say here. If not, I'll make it simple for you. When a Scientology victim progresses up to OT3, what do you find out? L. Ron ...

Depending on whom you ask, last week's verdict in Religious Technology Center v. Keith Henson is either a vote for intellectual property rights or a vote against freedom of information. But regardless of whom you ask, Henson is in an unenviable position: He faces a US$75,000 fine for violating the Church of Scientology's copyright. And this Friday, the Palo Alto, California, electrical engineer must tell the judge in the case why he should not be held in contempt of court for ...

A local mother warned parents last week that young people who travel to Perth in search of education, work or adventure could be influenced by cult groups. Young people often gravitated to Perth in search of excitement and some cults have been accused of preying on the lonely, offering friendship to young people feeling lost in an unfamiliar place, the mother said. Matilda, not her real name, said she wanted to warn others because her life had been turned upside down ...

Having spent the morning on the Net, surfing any number of hideous accounts by ex-scientologists, I climbed the stairs of the Civic Scientology office with some trepidation. I felt armed with my newly enhanced awareness of cult recruiting tactics and brainwashing techniques, and had the specific aim of grabbing any printed material I could see and getting out fast. I was greeted warmly by a young woman and told that someone would be 'with me shortly.' A few minutes later she ...

When L. Ron Hubbard penned his ground-breaking book, Dianetics, a shot rang out in Hollywood. The book, now available in more than 32 languages, has sold over 16 million copies since 1950. It has also attracted legions of famous followers to its Church of Scientology in Hollywood and its castle-like Celebrity Centre located in the heart of Tinseltown. During John Travolta's Golden Globe acceptance speech, for example, the church member — long rumored to be gay — thanked L. Ron Hubbard ...

The star of Phenomenon claims the movie is close to real life and says he can cure people with his bare hands — but is it just cult fiction? In John Travolta's latest movie, Phenomenon, the once disco-dancing star plays an ordinary man who is miraculously given supernatural abilities. It sounds like fantasy — but in real life John believes he, too, has weird powers. Behind that famous smile, the 42-year-old gentle family man is an obsessive cult follower who claims ...

In response to the comments made about the George Street Volcano (Nightmare on George Street, S-H 26/5), I wish to make certain facts clear. My company, Woodbridge Associates Pty Ltd, owns the lease on the volcano. We are leasing some of the screen time to New Era Publications, not the Church of Scientology. New Era Publications is advertising the Dianetics book on the screen. They are the publishers of the works of L. Ron Hubbard. There have been no breaches of ...

Australia's most elaborate billboard, a giant three-dimensional volcano unveiled in Sydney's George Street theatre district, won't be selling soft drinks or hamburgers but the path to religion. The 330-square-metre billboard, including a five-metre-high television screen, will be used to promote L. Ron Hubbard's 1950 book Dianetics, the foundation stone of the Church of Scientology. Unveiled by Hollywood scientologist Nancy Cartwright — the voice of cartoon character Bart Simpson — the volcano has been positioned on the facade of the Metro Theatre ...

Scientology is the religion everyone loves to hate. So how come so many movie stars are devout followers? Moves into the church's Celebrity Centre for an exclusive look at the starway to heaven. AT FRANKLIN AND BRONSON A LOGJAM OF LIMousines crawls toward the mock-French Normandy Chateau. At the grand doorway, celebrities, lawyers, producers, and the children of the well-heeled of the entertainment industry step onto the crimson-carpeted tarmac, chattering through the pink-and-gold lounge to the lawns and fairy-lit trees beyond, ...